說好的智能家居呢？

A recent advertisement for ATT1）’s Digital Life home automation service features two teenagers meeting their parents at a lake cabin for the weekend after stopping by the family home. “Did you leave the house in good shape？” the father asks， checking his phone only to discover that the children left the faucet2） running， the television blasting3）， every light in the house on， and the door unlocked.

In theory， the advertisement is demonstrating the value of smart home technology， including the implication that home automation is a fantastic corrective to bad parenting. But in reality， the advertisement plays into one of our greatest insecurities： that we are somehow too immature， and unworthy of home ownership. ATT suggests that without this ultimate remote control tool， our houses are vulnerable to all manner of flooding and theft. Equally disturbing， the technology introduces new paranoia4） into the parent-child relationship： incessant monitoring， the constant presence of a scornful5） eye. Gone are the days of TV marathons while mom and dad are out to dinner.

The words “home automation” stir images of stainless steel， voice-activated systems， the staples of so many sci-fi movies. We imagine holographic6） touch screen panels and showerheads that power on automatically three minutes after our last alarm goes off. We dream of the technology in Spike Jonze7）’s Her—an artificial intelligence system that is not only designed to coax us out of bed in time for morning meetings， but that also seems to know our personalities and our routines as intimately as we know them ourselves. We want a one-of-a-kind algorithm that will streamline our lives.

But the reality of this soon-to-be $70 billion industry is far less elegant. Currently， one of the most universal smart home services uses your smart phone to turn on or off the lights in your home. Other services are similarly mundane. You can preheat your oven using your phone， in case you’re the kind of person who likes cooking three course dinners but hates turning dials. Or you can monitor the status of a propane8） gas tank， for those who never learned to read a meter. Or， for the social media junkies， you can now tweet from a touch panel on your fridge. These seem a bit lackluster9） compared to the image of a robot bringing us coffee in bed.

This is not to say that smart home technology is completely worthless： Google’s Nest developed a remote controlled thermostat10）， and ATT’s service allows users to activate home security systems from anywhere. But the desire to automate seems to have outrun the need for automation. Smart home technology reached a new level of absurdity in GE’s brilliant collaboration with Quirky11） to develop an egg tray that alerts users when they run out of eggs in their fridge. The technology simulates an artificial state of emergency around not knowing how many eggs are left in our refrigerator： What if you are unable to satisfy your strange craving for a six-egg omelet after a long day at the Goldman offices？

In fact， the entire home automation market is a breeding ground for various Woody Allen12）-like neuroses： Days will be spent checking smart home apps to make sure that front door locks are engaged and all appliances are off. The question “did I leave the lights on？” will no longer be a minor nag， but will become a compulsive workplace distraction. We will wake up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat because we can’t remember whether we set the thermostat to 70 or to 68 degrees. Speaking of which， did I leave my blender on this morning？

Even the most basic smart home technology is error-prone. This past Christmas， my apartment ended up with a power strip by Quirky. The strip allowed us to turn appliances on or off from our phones. Installing it， however， meant that the lamps in the apartment would only erratically13） obey the light switch on the wall. Quirky’s Wink power strip became a nuisance.

A study on life in smart homes by a professor at Manchester Metropolitan University in England concluded that home automation is more than just a source of anxiety； despite everything this technology aspires to， smart homes may also be a major inconvenience. Study participants were frustrated by having to flip through tablet menus in order to turn a single light on or off. Participants were also annoyed that automated washing machines were harder to operate， and that the smart home technology was not easily overridden14）. Another complaint was that the technology seemed to be only a small improvement over what already exists： One home cook suggested a self-regulating oven able to interpret recipes would be more helpful than a digital cookbook. In spite of these potential smart home headaches， another study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University indicates that we will continue to be seduced by the promise of glitzy15） high tech homes， and that home automation will become the second largest home remodeling trend in the near future.

The term Smart Home or Home Automation is perhaps a misnomer16）： The technology is still very much do-it-yourself. My bedside alarm clock cannot yet activate my coffee machine， nor will turning off my shower in the morning drop the lever of my toaster. The theme of home automation is not automation because we can but automation because we almost can. Nest， for example， one of the flashiest names in smart home technology， developed a smoke detector that is three times as expensive as the one recommended by the FDNY17）. The cheaper detector can， like the Nest， differentiate between cooking smoke and a real threat， and can also detect carbon dioxide. Nest’s will tell you what room the fire is in， but only after you’ve programmed the device to know the room in which you’ve placed it. The smart technology is not necessarily any smarter than the standard， although it is much sleeker18）， which， in the end， is perhaps what matters most. And because now the infringement19） of privacy seems to be one of the greatest concerns for American public， this choice of sleek and high-tech over practical seems even more misguided： A recent study by HP finds that many popular smart home devices are vulnerable to hackers. Which is to say， you can never really know who else is counting your eggs or turning on your faucets.

美國電話電報公司的“數字生活”家居自動化服務最近推出了一則廣告，內容是兩個少年先在家中逗留，之后在湖邊小屋與父母見面，共度周末。“你們出門時家里都好好的吧？”父親問道，查看手機后卻發現孩子們沒關水龍頭，電視機震耳欲聾，屋里的每盞燈都亮著，而且門沒上鎖。

從理論上說，這則廣告展示的是智能家居技術的價值，并暗示家居自動化是教子無方的絕妙補救。但事實上，這則廣告反而助長了我們最大的不安之一：不知怎么地，我們太不成熟了，不配安家置業。美國電話電報公司的意思是，如果沒有這個終極的遠程控制工具，我們的房子就很容易遭受各種水災和盜竊。同樣令人不安的是，家居智能技術也為親子關系帶來了新的疑慮：持續不斷的監控，還有始終存在的充滿鄙視的眼神。爸爸媽媽外出吃晚餐時孩子盡情看電視的日子一去不復返了。

“家居自動化”這幾個字讓人想到不銹鋼和聲控系統這些諸多科幻電影中屢見不鮮的東西。我們設想會有全息三維觸摸屏面板，會有最后一聲鬧鈴響過三分鐘時自動開啟的淋浴頭。我們夢想擁有斯派克·瓊斯的電影《她》中的技術——一種人工智能系統，這種系統的設計不僅能夠哄我們起床，讓我們及時參加上午的會議，而且似乎對我們的性格和日常生活了如指掌，熟悉程度就像我們了解自己一樣。我們希望有一種獨一無二的算法來簡化我們的生活。

但是，對于這個即將擁有七百億美元規模的產業來說，現實遠遠沒有那么美好。目前，最普遍的智能家居服務之一是使用你的智能手機來打開或關上家中的燈。其他服務也同樣稀松平常。如果你喜歡為晚餐烹飪三道菜卻討厭調節旋鈕，你可以使用手機預熱烤箱。或者，對于從來沒學會讀表的人，你可以監控丙烷燃氣罐的狀態。或者，對于社交媒體迷，你現在可以在你家冰箱的觸摸屏上發推文了。與機器人把咖啡端到我們床邊的畫面相比，這些功能似乎有些乏善可陳。

這并不是說智能家居技術毫無價值可言：谷歌旗下的Nest公司開發了一種可以遠程控制的恒溫器，美國電話電報公司的服務使用戶可以在任何地方啟動家庭安保系統。但是對自動化的渴望似乎已經超越了對自動化的需要。通用電氣公司非常成功地與Quirky公司合作，開發出一種雞蛋托盤，能在用戶冰箱中的雞蛋吃完時提醒用戶，智能家居技術之荒謬至此達到了新的層次。該技術模擬出一種虛假的緊急狀態，即我們不知道冰箱里還剩下多少雞蛋：要是你在高盛的辦公室里工作了一整天之后，無法滿足自己對六個雞蛋做的煎蛋餅的奇特渴望該怎么辦？

事實上，整個家居自動化市場是滋生各種伍迪·艾倫式瘋子的溫床：人們將花費大把的時間來查看智能家居應用程序，以確保前門上了鎖，所有家用電器都關閉了。“我是不是沒關燈”這個問題將不再是一個小煩惱，而會成為工作場所中讓人難以自控的一件分心事。我們會在半夜醒來，發現自己一身冷汗，因為我們不記得自己將恒溫器設置在了70度還是68度。說到這兒，今天早上我關攪拌器了嗎？

即便是最基礎的智能家居技術也容易出錯。在剛剛過去的圣誕節，我的公寓終于有了Quirky推出的接線板。這個接線板使我們能夠用手機開關電器。然而，安裝這個接線板意味著公寓中的燈不再聽話地服從墻上的電燈開關。Quirky的“眨眼”接線板成了一個麻煩。

英國曼徹斯特城市大學的一位教授對智能家居中的生活進行了一項研究，得出如下結論：家居自動化不僅僅會導致焦慮；盡管這項技術渴望實現種種功能，但智能家居也可能造成嚴重的不便。在研究中，參與者為了開啟或關閉一盞燈不得不翻看平板電腦的功能菜單，這讓他們很懊惱。同樣令參與者感到惱火的是，自動洗衣機操作起來更難，而要手動取消智能家居技術的控制也并非易事。還有人抱怨稱，智能家居技術似乎只是對現有技術做了很小的改進：一位家庭廚師提出，比起數字食譜，一個能解讀食譜并可以自動調節的烤箱要更有用。盡管智能家居可能帶來這些令人頭痛的問題，但哈佛大學住房研究聯合中心的另一項研究表明，我們會繼續被炫目的高科技家居的前景所吸引，并且在不久的將來，家居自動化將成為家庭改造的第二大趨勢。

“智能家居”或“家居自動化”的說法也許是取名不當：這一技術仍然非常有賴自己動手。我床頭的鬧鐘還不能啟動我的咖啡機，早上關閉淋浴也不會使烤面包機的控制桿自動落下。家居自動化的主題不是“因為我們能”而自動化，而是“因為我們幾乎能”而自動化。例如，Nest是智能家居技術領域最響亮的名字之一，其開發的一種煙霧探測器的價格是紐約消防隊推薦的煙霧探測器價格的三倍。和Nest的探測器一樣，較為便宜的這種探測器也能區分油煙和真正的威脅，并且還可以檢測二氧化碳。Nest的探測器會告訴你起火的是哪個房間，但前提是你要對設備進行設定，使其了解你安放設備的房間。智能技術未必比普通技術更“智能”，盡管它要時髦得多，歸根結底，這一點也許是最重要的。鑒于如今對隱私的侵犯似乎是美國公眾最大的擔憂之一，選擇時髦和高科技產品而非實用型產品似乎更是弄巧成拙了：惠普最近的一項研究發現，許多流行的智能家居設備很容易遭受黑客攻擊。也就是說，你永遠無法真正知道還有誰在數你家的雞蛋，或是誰在打開你家的水龍頭。