TABLE 3.
Typology of identified implications.
| Type of implication | Examples from social practice imaginaries critique |
|---|---|
| 1. Technological limitations | |
| These limitations refer to the practical, technical factors underlying the practices carried out by the learning systems. In many cases, the system will require some kind of interference by the inhabitant in order to be able to carry out their actions. On the other hand, these systems are also part of a larger network of system (e.g., power network, WiFI-network, the cloud, other IoT devices, etc.), implying their reliance on these networks, resulting in possible chains of issues when an issue occurs somewhere in this network. | |
| Preparations | Grocery shopping: Placing the groceries in their designated places after they arrived at the inhabitants’ doorstep |
| Hardware failures | Waking up: The configuration of the lights, blinds, coffee machine etc. could be disrupted when there is a power outage |
| 2. Communication | |
| The implications concerning the communication encompass the abilities of the learning system to communicate with their surroundings in the wide sense. Communication in this sense refers not only to the interaction between the system and the different inhabitants, but also to the links with the wider institutions of which the practice may be part ánd to the communication between multiple learning systems that encompass multiple diverse domestic practices. | |
| Feedback | Heating and cooling: In case of a new unexpected event the system may ask for feedback from the inhabitant. But would they motivate the inhabitant not to ignore these feedback requests by the learning system? |
| Learning opportunities | Grocery shopping: If this system could coordinate with larger systems of grocery suppliers, it could manage the continuous flow of supply instead of risking e.g. large buy-ins of a certain products |
| Complexes of practices | Grocery shopping: If there is no more bread, would this affect the triggering of breakfast preparations which implies preparing toast using slices of bread? |
| 3. Agency | |
| The agency implications concern factors dealing with the learning systems’ interference with the inhabitants’ (sense of) control and maintenance over certain domestic practices. These factors include the negotiation over agency in practices, the systems’ dealing with the multiple–sometimes unexpected–inhabitants involved, and the bounds and limits of the systems’ responsibilities and (un)desirable actions. | |
| Division of agency | Grocery shopping: Certain cultures would think of it as ‘wrong’ to have system that tells them how to cook their foods, as it could take away the creative element of cooking |
| Usees | Waking up: What could happen when a couple shares the bed? Or, in an even more extreme and unexpected case, if for one night the bed is shared with another person who is not a known inhabitant of the home |
| (Un)desirable Behavior | Heating and cooling: Is it desirable for the system to anticipate and react every time an inhabitant enters the home, creating the ‘ideal’ atmosphere, even if the inhabitant might only be inside for a very limited amount of time? |
| 4. Data usage | |
| The fact that the learning systems deal with data, both in feeding and controlling their actions, leads to several implications. In the imaginaries, two types can be identified. On the one hand, the issue of privacy occurs in sharing the data with thirds, aimed at catering to the inhabitants’ needs and wants, whilst also possibly leaking into other needs and wants by the institutions with whom the data is shared. On the other hand, the connectedness of the home and the importance of the data in maintaining and controlling the home, may lead to issues of safety, since this data, in the wrong hands, could lead to harmful practices. | |
| Privacy | Grocery shopping: Coordinating with larger systems of grocery suppliers, enabling the system to continually suggest promotions, new products … based on the inhabitants’ personal eating habits |
| Safety | Waking up: A person meaning to harm or annoy the inhabitant(s) could hijack the system and turn up or down the temperature to unbearable conditions, whilst also spicing up the energy bills and posing possibly environmentally harmful behavior |