I am a sucker for a gadget, especially of the domestic kind. So it was a pleasure to read about the gizmos on display recently at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Particular favourites were the voice-activated bidet (I have always believed in water over wiping – better yet, both – and have a theory that we are being brainwashed by “big tissue”); a pillow that adjusts the sleeper if they snore; and a robot mop-vacuum hybrid that claims to seek out stains.
I will admit that there is something of the last days of Rome about CES. Here it is, the culmination of efforts from some of the greatest tech minds of our generation, solving problems that were … not really problems to begin with. Like this year’s much-lauded reveal of the see-through TV. That’s right, it looks like glass when it’s off, finally addressing the issue of a television looking like a television.
Such upgrades are usually just marketing ploys – new ways to sell old things. But I have nearly been had. A few years ago, I sat through a demonstration of a washing machine I couldn’t afford because of its “cutting-edge” gymwear setting. Fortunately, I came to my senses and remembered that the only setting anyone ever needs (or probably uses) is the 45-minute full load. I can just turn it down to 20C, anyway.
Despite my oohs and aahs at today’s gadget marvels, I can’t help but grouch at our collective belief in technology’s ability to fix any problem. No wonder tech is always the answer for every politician – it’s an easy way to promise an improved life without tackling the bigger concerns. I like the sound of a robot mop, but I would probably prefer a better work-life balance so I have more time to tend to my home. I will never forget discovering a gadget for elderly care that notified the user’s children if the parent failed to make their morning tea. Someone commented that it would be better to have functioning social care. It’s hard not to agree.
Still, it’s fun to imagine a futuristic Jetson life. A girl can dream. Or, better yet, snore with the comfort of in-built machine-automated disturbance cancellation.
• Coco Khan is a freelance writer and co-host of the politics podcast Pod Save the UK
