“Smart” devices are a dime a dozen today, but virtually none of them were designed as community devices. This is a big problem.
One thing about me is that I love hosting gatherings at my home. My wife and I are excited about cooking, putting on music, getting people to know each other and everything. But being the host brings with it two horrible things: housekeeping and atrocious music recommendations.
I don't think you'll blame me for anything on the tidying part: washing piles of dishes is one of life's inevitable little horrors. But you might be wondering “why bring music recommendations?” Well, it makes sense in context. See, we use our TV to play music, mainly because I like having music videos accompanying our parties.
We use my YouTube account for this and, as we don't like to impose our music on guests, we always invite anyone who wants to add their own music. You see where I'm going with this: songs that I don't particularly like or care about start showing up in my suggestions.
Now, I know that there is an option hidden in the YouTube configuration that allows you to pause your history to avoid this type of “pollution”. But that is precisely the point I am about to address. It shouldn't be this hard for me to stop these added songs from contaminating my recommendations.
The reason I'm telling you this is because it's one of many everyday examples of a bad approach to the design of our smart home devices . Why “bad approach”? Because engineers treat all home devices as if they were intended for individual users, when in reality they are community devices.
Individual devices used by a community
Does this seem like a very specific problem I'm having? Think again. “Smart” devices are a dime a dozen today and virtually none of them were designed as community devices. From digital photo frames that show photos of a roommate who no longer lives where the frame is located to smart assistants that don't turn on lights for guests.
All of these things can work wonderfully – as long as they only serve an individual person. Once you start adding people as users, problems start to arise. From devices not responding to commands, to mixed content, to sheer inability to use the device, too many users trying to use the same smart devices can lead to a lot of problems.
The reason for this is simple: they are not community devices. You may be wondering what these “community devices” I keep blathering on about are. Basically, they are devices designed to serve multiple users, often at the same time. There was a time when our household appliances were extremely common, from our tube TVs to our landline phones. Everyone used them and there were no distinctions.
But then the desktop computer came along and everything changed. It certainly started out as a community device (remember having a “computer room”?), but then, as operating systems evolved, the idea of user profiles started to emerge. Quickly, each user had their personal space and enjoyed the possibility of a tailored and personalized experience (not that everyone did, mind you).
The epitome of this upfront and personal approach finally appeared with the emergence of cell phones. When the iPhone hit the market, people understood that they had the option of having a personal, individual computer in their pocket. Fast enough, smartphones became the norm and practically an extension of everyone's body. Cell phones, in short, have erased the idea of “communal,” especially from the minds of developers.
But the scenario changed once again. The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and its interconnected devices has put the need for a community approach on the table once again. It makes sense if you look closely. Light automation systems control something that residents of any home use. The same goes for smart thermostats, refrigerators and virtual assistants. In the office, digital whiteboards and video monitors meant for team sharing also require a community focus.
However, even when the uses of these and other technologies are clearly communal, the design still feels individual. As anyone who shares a Netflix account can attest, it often happens that the person who sets up the device ends up having their information and accounts associated with it, which the rest of the users end up using anyway. This can lead to countless problems – you may have read about children using Alexa to easily buy toys without parental consent or how IoT devices are being used for domestic violence .
Potential solutions for a new approach
You could argue that many of the problems I mentioned above are “easily solved” through proper use of device options or even a factory reset. While I can understand what you mean, this is different from what I'm saying. Companies developing smart devices are using the “adjust features and add options” alternative to mitigate these problems. He guesses? Is not working.
People don't have the same digital skills (or patience) to constantly configure devices. Devices are still limited because they can't accommodate multiple users at once without breaking something (have you ever tried talking to an Echo while having dinner with friends?). What's worse, there are things that more options can't solve.
Security and privacy are great examples. You can set up a Chromecast to show your personal photos on a loop, but if you're inviting people you don't want to show those photos to, you'll need to change the settings before they arrive (and after they leave). ). There shouldn't be that kind of friction. Conversely, you don't want your kids ordering online just by yelling at your assistant. Here, you want more friction.
And that's without considering the dangers of people accessing your personal information or devices, such as the cases of domestic violence I mentioned above.
There are problems with today's smart devices that cannot be solved with more options. That's why we need a new approach that covers the diverse scenarios of the always-on era. If smart devices are always present, listening, watching, waiting, then we need their design to encompass different aspects of their use.O'Reilly's great article on this topic suggests there are 5 main aspects:
- Identity. Who are the users of smart devices? Community devices have multiple users by default, so their possibilities and capabilities should always focus on serving different people in different contexts, at all times.
- Privacy. Who has access to what through a smart device? Not all users are the same, so you can give them all the same access. I should be able to enjoy my personal photos on my Chromecast, but also keep them private when certain guests arrive.
- Security. What can each user do with the smart device? It's fine if I can easily purchase something through a smart assistant, but that shouldn't be an option for the plumber taking care of my leaky kitchen faucet.
- Experience. How should the smart device decide whether a specific action is appropriate for its current context? If I'm sitting with my kids getting ready to watch a movie, the platforms should offer movies that are appropriate for everyone, even if I'm on my own profile. What's more, this adaptation shouldn't have any lasting effects on my profiles, as I might not want these recommendations when I'm watching alone or with my wife.
- Property. Who owns the data and services associated with a smart device? We've been writing about the dangers of IoT for some time now, and those criticisms really apply here.
Answering these questions is not easy. There are technical factors that still limit the possibilities regarding these aspects. We still need to better understand how people use community devices, which may be more common than ever but still have evolving uses. What's more, we need to have a clearer picture of the expectations of the users around you, as this is the only way to remove friction or add it where it's needed.
As it stands today, I cannot say that we have community devices, only individual devices that we use as a community. It's not ideal and can cause a lot of problems, but it is what it is. Unless we recognize and address this approach, we will be left dealing with inefficient devices and annoying experiences. Now, if you'll excuse me, we have people coming over for dinner, so I'm going to have to pause my YouTube history.
Source: BairesDev
