As technology has progressed over time, it has become increasingly closely adapted to the way we live and work. At the same time but to a lesser degree, we have also become adapted to technology. This mutual adaptation is inevitable due to the constant desire for greater efficiency and comfort both in our everyday lives and in the business world. More than ever though, this evolution is bringing with it serious issues that we as designers need to consider.

One way in which greater adaptation is being enabled is through the largely invisible integration of machine intelligence (i.e. computers) into a wide range of everyday products that in the past would have had no real intelligence of their own. This emerging revolution in consumer products is referred to as “ambient intelligence”.

This paper investigates how “ambient intelligence” is being introduced into the design of consumer products and the benefits that could be derived from it. In showing the development of such products and how they work, some of the ethical and existential issues facing product designers will be illustrated. In particular, this paper argues that the information gathering required to intelligently adapt to the user’s needs and the influence such smart products may have over the user could lead to the commoditisation of the identity and autonomy of the individual if we are not careful.

Read full paper