Everyone has a story about having a casual conversation with their phone sitting on the bar or the table, and suddenly seeing a rash of related ads appear in the feeds or browser. We’re about at the point that we’ve come to accept that as a cost-of-living feature in the 21st century. Last Sunday, we got in the car to go to church, and my phone pulled up the usual destination for that day and time and was kind enough to offer suggestions for the fastest route to get there. I went ahead and disabled that, because it is none of my phone’s business where I spend my time, and if I want directions, I’ll ask for directions, thank you.
We also have a dishwasher that wants to send us text messages when it is time to run a cleaning cycle or when it is low on drying agent. Some people find that helpful. I find it freaky.
Call me a Luddite and laugh at me if you want, but I am not interested in having HAL 9000 or “The Demon Seed” in charge of my life, or thinking that they are.
Not to be outdone by the “dishwasher of the future,” Samsung has been offering smart fridges for years. The Verge reports that the Family Hub fridge’s screen will offer ads:
The ads will be part of a new widget on some of the smart fridges’ “Cover screen themes” (like a tablet or smartphone’s home screen). The widget, which Samsung shared with me ahead of today’s announcement, has four rotating screens. One showing news, one calendar events, one the weather forecast, and one with “curated advertisements.”
The ads will not be personalized. Or so they say. The article points out that “future promotions will depend on the feedback and insights gained from the program.” The impetus behind the move is to show how a home appliance can deliver “useful information.” And you can turn off the ads feature.
So the ads will not be targeted to users’ purchases, habits, or lifestyles, and the ad feature can be disabled. For now. And if that changes? Will they let fridge owners know that their information is being sold, that third-party ads have been added, or that their fridges have been linked to their phones, tablets, or laptops? Or will that helpful information be embedded deep in the EULA somewhere?
On another note, did anyone actually ask for this? The author, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, notes that the ad feature was being added via software update, long after she purchased her smart fridge. Samsung just decided to put the ads feature after-market. Last night, I noticed a strange note in the top-right corner of my phone. My carrier had added a “Turbo” feature. Turbo presumably speeds up data connections for videos, games, etc. I didn’t ask for Turbo, and my company did not tell me they were slipping it in. A little research revealed that Turbo is $7.00 a month, after the introductory period. I had to go into our account and disable the feature to keep from getting dinged for seven clams a month. It is more than presumptuous to say “Hey! We had a great idea to make your life ‘better’ and we added to your tech without so much as a by-your-leave. Oh, and that will be $7.00."
Among other features, Tuohy says the software update will include:
- AI Vision can now recognize more foods. The fridge’s AI-powered camera can now spot 37 new, fresh food items — adding apples, cherries, cucumbers, and kiwis to its memory banks — plus up to 50 packaged food items.
- Bixby is getting new Voice ID capabilities on the fridge, allowing it to recognize which household member is speaking, offer personalized results for things like calendars, and help you find your phone.
- Samsung’s One UI, introduced on the 2025 Family Hub, is coming to 2024 models — making the fridge screen more in sync with Samsung’s TVs and tablets, and also bringing the Daily Board feature as a cover screen.
- SmartThings Pet Care, Home Care, and Family Care will now be available on 2024 models.
- Enhanced security features, including encrypted Credential Sync, Passkey support, and the new Knox Security Dashboard (which provides a way to see the security status of connected devices), are now available on more models.
Call me old-fashioned, but I just need my fridge to keep my food and beer chilly, not organize my life or tell me to ask my doctor if some drug is right for me.
Mr. Data, you have the conn.
Remember C-3PO? The shiny gold ‘droid from Star Wars who was an expert in human-cyborg relationships? Everybody liked C-3PO, right? But would you pay $20,000 ($200 deposit) for your own version (Artoo unit not included)? Maybe the NEO Home Robot, brought to you by 1X Technologies, is for you!
Despite his/her/its creepy, featureless face (except for eyes), NEO comes nattily attired in what amounts to a full-body turtleneck. If you visit the website, you can see vignettes of NEO in action, although I strongly suspect the version of NEO in the video is a 1X intern who was coerced into wearing a suit.
At any rate, NEO can (allegedly) help you with everyday tasks and chores, including cleaning. It “pairs visual and spatial awareness with memory to personalize interactions.” You can ask NEO anything, including advice for recipes and, for that matter, it can tell jokes and stories and engage in “lively conversation.” And of course, the more you use NEO, the more it learns and the more useful it will be. Additionally, it is quiet, lightweight, and soft.
However, there are some caveats.
As mentioned earlier, NEO comes with a $20,000 price tag. And the pre-2026 versions are not as autonomous as one might hope. As Forbes notes, “the company will need you to sign a waiver, allowing human operators to see through the robot’s eyes and help it perform tasks around your home.”
You see, at present, a remote A1 operator controls most of NEO’s activities, viewing the various assigned tasks through the cameras in NEO’s eyes. Which means that someone you do not know essentially has an unfettered view of your home. And you. That said, 1X assures us:
NEO works autonomously by default. For any chore request it doesn't know, you can schedule a 1X Expert to guide it, helping NEO learn while getting the job done.
… owners have to actively schedule a time for an Expert to support with their chores and accept them into their robot using voice or mobile. NEO’s emotive ear rings will change color while a 1X Expert Operator is active. Owners have full control over each session.
At least NEO has enough fail-safe programming to keep it from going full-Skynet and killing you in your sleep.
So if, in this economy, you have $20,000 burning a hole in your pocket and are in the market for a new friend, which may or may not give some person you have never met a close look at your home, and might or might not open the pod bay doors, ask your doctor if NEO is right for you.
