Consumer advocates claim that BMW to Ecovacs, these are the products deemed as the ‘Worst in Show’ at CES 2024.
The top products showcased at CES 2024 cut through the excessive marketing noise at the Las Vegas tech expo, offering groundbreaking innovations that have the potential to enhance our lives. On the other hand, the most detrimental products, deemed as “Worst in Show” by a group of dystopia experts, have the capacity to negatively impact both our society and the environment. The winners of this undesirable distinction were revealed on Thursday, marking the third consecutive year of the contest that no tech company desires to be a part of.
AND THERE IS A REWARD
“From easy-to-hack lawnmowers to $300 earbuds that break in two years, these are products that compromise our security, encourage unnecessary overconsumption, and normalize invasions of privacy,” said the consumer and privacy advocacy group that judges the awards. The contest is not affiliated with CES or the trade group organizing the show.
They made their choices based on how uniquely bad the product was, what impact it could have if it were widely adopted, and whether it was significantly worse than previous versions of the same technology. The judges represent groups including Consumer Reports, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and right-to-repair advocates iFixit.
DANGEROUS CARTECH
Automotive technology is a big focus at CES every year. Car manufacturer BMW was awarded with two bricks, one of which is a partnership with Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa.
The Broad Language Model – the AI system behind chatbots like ChatGPT – Amazon says Alexa’s “car expert” will be able to provide “quick instructions and answers about vehicle functions in a much more human, conversational way, and even act on your behalf.”
Being able to ask Alexa to unlock the front door or turn off the porch light sounds handy.
But what if it’s expressed by an abusive ex? “We’ve seen more and more horrific stories where people, usually women, trying to escape domestic violence situations end up with their cars acting as trackers and distributors of abuse,” said “Worst in Show” judge Cindy Cohn’s comment. Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
He added: “Alexa and BMW – and frankly all the car companies racing to turn our cars into tracking devices – need to make sure victims can turn this off.”
BMW is also introducing augmented reality glasses designed by Xreal, which are meant to overlay useful information and virtual objects that you see in front of you while driving. Another judge called it a “recipe for distracted driving” that could also pave the way for a future of obscuring ads.
BMW and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
HEADPHONES
German audio electronics manufacturer Sennheiser introduced the fourth generation of its Momentum True Wireless headphones, which are generally known to last a while.
But iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens says the latest $300 headphones are “a betrayal of the brand” because they’re too disposable, with three separate batteries that will likely fail after a few years and can’t be easily replaced.
“Start by selling batteries and posting repair instructions,” he wrote. “Then make the battery easier to replace.”
Sennheiser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WHO SAID MORE GROCERIES ADVERTISING?
Nathan Proctor, national campaign director for PIRG, a U.S. consumer advocacy group, named the new video ads in Instacart’s “AI-powered” shopping cart as the “Worst in Show” category.
General Mills, Del Monte Foods and Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream are among the companies advertising in carts during an upcoming pilot at Good Food Holdings-owned West Coast stores.
Equipped with cameras and sensors, the cart has a screen that dispenses real-time recommendations based on what customers have put in the shopping cart, such as advertising ice cream if the customer buys cobs.
“It uses historical purchasing behavior to push junk food you’ve bought in the past,” Proctor wrote. “Grocery is overwhelming and campaigning is exhausting and I question the sanity of the people who thought we should make it worse.”
Instacart did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ROBOT PUMPS AND MACROWAVES
Cybersecurity “Worst in Show” went to China-based robotic vacuum cleaner manufacturer Ecovacs. Robot vacuums are nothing new, but Paul Roberts of Secure Repairs says the new X2 Combo combines all the elements of intrusive home surveillance – cameras, microphones, LiDAR, speech recognition and computer vision that can recognize objects – without any guarantees that its unencrypted images or the video feed cannot be hacked.
Environmental impact “Worst in Show” went to one of the many Internet-connected food technology devices on display at CES 2024. Revolution Cooking’s $1,800 “macro microwave” combines a microwave with a convection oven, but such trendy devices tend to be short-lived and encourage people to toss the simpler appliances they already own, according to Shanika Whitehurst of Consumer Reports.
“Adding electronics to fully functional devices dramatically increases their environmental impact, requiring massive amounts of resources and energy,” he wrote.
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