These technologies have a way of overriding any initial reservations we might have about them. “People don’t buy Alexa because it’s a surveillance device,” Coldicutt says. “They buy it because it’s nice to have a hands-free timer in the kitchen. It’s still a surveillance device.” Some of us might not have a choice but to submit. If social housing exists in the future, might its inhabitants be required to submit to some form of monitoring in order to “prove” that they deserve to live there? If you’re on the future version of universal credit and you’re still in bed at 8.30am, is that going to be a problem? Coldicutt reckons that it might be.

Godwin, R. (2021, November 14). Houses of tomorrow: A more hopeful vision of domesticity, or a dystopian nightmare? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/nov/14/houses-of-tomorrow-a-more-hopeful-vision-of-domesticity-or-a-dystopian-nightmare