The YouGov International Technology Report 2021 reveals that in the UAE, three in ten (29%, to be precise) of consumers believe that Artificial Intelligence will have a ‘more positive than negative’ effect on society. Among those consumers that claim to be better informed about technology, 44% believe so. The report also informs that while people continue to primarily desire human-led operations in sectors like medical consultation and education, there is strong support for automation in homes, online shopping, manufacturing, and transport.
In the context of homes, automation has profuse benefits for consumers. Not only does it allow users to control and monitor their assets through a single interface that is specifically catered to their needs and cost allowances, but it also significantly improves overall performance of property.
Home automation involves an elaborate set-up that enables setting timers for operating hours of appliances like lights and ACs, one-touch control of shutters/curtains and doors and finally, use of motion sensors for automatic functioning of these devices.
Beyond these, they also facilitate monitoring household electricity usage and energy performance of individual gadgets, detecting water and gas leakages, high temperature and excess carbon monoxide emissions in garages and very importantly, keep household security on users’ fingertips.
These versatile functions, implementable by consumers with just the touch of a screen, make homes smarter and more organised, enhancing comfort with constant security and ease of access. Going above and beyond, the ability of these systems to detect parameters like electricity usage and CO emissions also helps in keeping homes sustainable and energy efficient. Seamless integration with other systems like Alexa, Siri and Google would also optimise communication in case of emergencies and in guest room management.
An instance of the utility home automation offers is how AI machine learning enables timetabling devices to function during specific hours of the day based on history of usage. A user who regularly returns home from work at a specific time in the evening and has a shower, dinner and TV routine henceforth would experience ease if the water heating system automatically switches on when they arrive, and the TV system switches on when motion sensors detect that they have entered the living room. Not needing to remember a task such as turning the geyser on will save the user from frustration in case they’ve forgotten to do so.
While there remains some hesitation among consumers in the UAE in their eagerness for home automation, the demand for it is rising, with feelings about AI skewing on the positive side. What is essential now is to improve understanding among consumers of how AI can increase satisfaction through smarter homes, and address and empathize with their concerns and confusions regarding them. Building credibility of entities that produce and install these systems using formal procedure will help consumers gain trust in them. This will then help them to reap the benefits of AI to achieve a comfortable, safe and green future of living.
