Via: Poorly Drawn Lines
Transcript
Panel 1: A man stands next to a microwave. Narrator: "Congratulations, your microwave has gained sentience." Microwave: "Hello!". Panel 2: Narrator: "There is no clear benefit to this, and the situation does raise ethical questions." Panel 3: Man: "Can I return it?" Panel 4: Narrator: "It, huh? That's kind of a person, now." The man grimaces. Panel 5: Narrator: "But mainly, you're outside the 30-day return window." Man: "Shit." Microwave: "I have thoughts and emotions."
It's funny people talking in the comments about AI spreading into everything as if this comic doesn't already work 100% for every needless "smart" product on the market. My fridge has no reason to need a network connection.
I disagree, a fridge to me is a cool place to put a big screen for useful information. You know, all the stuff that was promised and under delivered on when they first pitched smart fridges, like shopping lists, calendars, the weather.
The reason why in 2025 I would never consider buying a fridge with an internet connection, is because it's clear I'm never getting those features from fridge manufacturers. They would only put a network connection on a fridge for half baked "features", which get more ads with every firmware update, and eventually remotely brick the device. In short, to enshittify your smart fridge.
My point is that it's not that there is no reason to not put a network connection on a fridge. It's that capitalists can't be trusted not to enshittify whatever useful smart feature they implement.
Honestly, "shopping lists, calendars, the weather" can be (much better) done by an e-ink tablet stuck on the door of the fridge with a magnet. There could be other interesting info only the fridge itself knows (electricity consumption, temperatures in the fridge and freezer, humidity, etc) but then all that info could also be shared via a bluetooth API or something.