Five Instances of Smart Homes in Modern Movies and TV

“X-Files”: Episode Rm9sbG93ZXJz

Sticking with this dystopian theme, we come to an episode of The X-Files that is all about automation and artificial intelligence. The episode follows Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they navigate an increasingly automated and intelligent world. However, the episode starts with a warning about a chatbot gone rogue, perhaps setting the stage for what eventually happens in the episode.

After a series of alarming events at an automated sushi restaurant and using technology to get home, Mulder and Scully return to their apparently connected homes to find nothing works as it should. This episode features a smart homeowner’s worst nightmare when Scully’s smart home system becomes uncontrollable, locking doors, brewing coffee, raising the audio level, ordering products, dispensing ice cubes from the freezer, releasing flammable gas and ultimately causing an explosion.

While the pair eventually escape these attacks, this is the classic tale of AI and technology going rogue and controlling our lives, a la Skynet.