Multiple matching
You are going to read an extract. For questions 1-10, choose from the sections (A-F). The sections may be chosen more than once.
When Convenience Starts Making Decisions for Us
The unintended consequences of 'smart' technology in everyday life
The Seduction of Frictionless Living
There is a particular kind of modern enchantment in a home that anticipates you: lights that soften as you enter, a thermostat that has quietly learned your tolerance for cold, a phone that pre-empts your route and warns of delays. I’m not immune to this charm; I enjoy it, perhaps more than I should. Yet I’m increasingly struck by how the promise of “frictionless” living smuggles in a subtle rearrangement of agency. The moment a device begins to decide what you would have chosen anyway, you are invited to stop choosing at all. What surprises me is how quickly these conveniences become baseline expectations. The first week with voice control feels like a party trick; by the third, pressing a button feels faintly archaic. And then, inevitably, the system fails—an update misfires, the Wi‑Fi drops—and the household behaves as if it has been deprived of oxygen. We laugh about it, but there is an irony here: the more “intuitive” the technology, the less practiced we become at coping without it. This isn’t a Luddite plea to abandon smart devices. It is a sceptical note about dependency disguised as progress, and about how comfort can quietly train us into passivity.
Which section/person suggests that technology can subtly shift decision-making away from the user, even when it seems to be offering help?
In which section does the writer describe how quickly a novelty becomes something people feel oddly unable to live without?
Which section/person argues that the idea of user ‘control’ is largely performative because the options are confusing and designed to wear people down?
Which section/person rejects comparisons with older household technologies on the grounds that today’s systems draw hidden conclusions about us?
Which section/person highlights the way ‘objective’ workplace systems can be used to dodge responsibility for decisions that harm staff?
In which section does the writer point out that tools sold as time-savers may actually encourage empty displays of productivity?
Which section/person questions the claim that data-driven urban decision-making is neutral, arguing it can reinforce existing social divides?
Which section/person gives an example of environmental monitoring that ends up benefiting wealthier areas while leaving poorer districts with the burden?
Which section/person expresses concern that reliance on recommendations and automation may weaken mental abilities and shrink personal development?
Which section/person proposes practical design and personal habit changes—such as offline functionality and deliberately reintroducing small inconveniences—to keep technology accountable?
0 of 10 answered