The best CES products pierce through the haze of marketing hype at the
The worst could harm us or our society and the planet in such “innovatively bad” ways that a panel of self-described dystopia experts has judged them “Worst in Show.”
The third annual contest that no tech company wants to win announced its decisions Thursday.
AND THE AWARD GOES TO
“From easily hackable lawn mowers to
They made the choices based on how uniquely bad a product is, what impact it could have if widely adopted and if it was significantly worse than previous versions of similar technology. The judges represent groups including Consumer Reports, the
DANGEROUS CARTECH
Automotive technology is annually a big focus at CES. And two brickbats were awarded to carmaker
Powered by a large language model — the type of AI system behind chatbots like ChatGPT —
Being able to ask Alexa to unlock the front door or turn off the porch light sounds convenient.
But what if it's being voiced by a violent ex?
“We have seen an increasing number of horrific stories where people, generally women, who are trying to escape abusive domestic situations end up having their cars serve as tracking and abuse vectors,” said a “Worst in Show” judge's comment from
She added: “Alexa and
“BMW and
Hanson said the augmented reality experience demonstrated at CES was a showcase of “potential use cases” that could aid or entertain people but that minimizing driver distraction remains a key principle in what
EARBUD DUDS
German audio electronics-maker Sennheiser showcased the fourth generation of its
But iFixit CEO
“Start by selling batteries and releasing repair instructions,” he wrote. "Then work on making the battery easier to swap.”
Sennheiser didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
WHO ASKED FOR MORE GROCERY ADS?
General Mills,
Equipped with cameras and sensors, the cart has a screen that will share real-time recommendations based on what customers put in the cart, like advertising ice cream if a customer buys cones.
“It uses historic shopping behavior to push junk foods you’ve bought before,” Proctor wrote. "Grocery stores are overwhelming and navigating promotions is exhausting, and I question the sanity of whoever thought we should make it worse.”
ROBOT VACUUMS AND ‘MACROWAVES’
The cybersecurity “Worst in Show” went to
The environmental impact “Worst in Show” went to one of many internet-connected food tech appliances showcased at CES 2024. Revolution Cooking's
“Adding electronics to perfectly functional appliances dramatically increases their environmental impact, requiring vast amounts of resources and energy,” she wrote.
Revolution Cooking and Ecovacs didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
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