Can Our McMansion Be Offline?

Our McMansion as it nears completion in January 2023

 

As the house nears completion nears, I have been thinking about the so-called "Internet of Things." When we picked out appliances, I wasn't paying attention to whether the devices were "smart" or not. I am sure that they are because that is the age we live in. I question whether I can have them offline and use them as "dumb" devices. It will be interesting as we get into the house to see what level of online we need to be to maintain a household. The only thing I want to have online is a camera system and home heating when traveling. I hope we don't have to go so far as a security system. I hate having so much stuff someone might want to take that I need a security system. I digress, but security systems in communities are a sign of vast inequalities that, if adequately addressed, might alleviate many of the needs for security systems. Those problems being structural and historical, they won't be solved anytime soon. I hate the idea that security systems exist almost as much as gated communities. Both are symptoms of a socioeconomic system that has created winners and losers.

The so called Internet of Things is the next iteration of techno evasive-invasivness that seeks to get every imaginable device connected to gather more data and thus gain more manipulation and control by the likes of the company whose platform I am writing on right now. Are you listening Google AI? To paraphrase Pink Floyd: Hey Google AI, leave them dam kids, alone! Sorry, Google and other company that starts with A and has a little hole bitten in the side of its logo: A-hole. To A-hole and other tech companies of the future; you and your home are the product they will sell back to you. It is time for us to disconnect.

In 2019, I was finally forced to give up my old widescreen tube TV and purchase a smart TV because a hundred-pound TV didn't fit into our move. I was reluctant because while my computer already opens doors into my home, the TV adds another node for evasive-invasivness by tech companies. Not to mention, even though I gave it to a friend in need, it is on the way o becoming a big, toxic piece of e-waste. Again, I digress, but why we don't have mandatory electronics recycling that would force companies to produce more responsible reusable products and give the end user the option of responsible disposal is another shortcoming of our present wasteful civilization.

I get a notion that the smart tv is doing more than tracking my searches for shows and Youtube videos when something I had been talking or thinking about comes up in a YouTube video. When I upgrade, I think I will go to a dumb projector or large monitor instead of a smart TV. Stay tuned to see if a modern home can offline.