Smart home assistants have a staggering environmental cost

There are already 66 million smart assistants in US homes and the number is growing daily. But what are we trading for the convenience of turning the lights on with our voice?

Director Brett Gaylor looks for an answer with his daughter Layla as they learn about the processing power involved in the machine learning powering Alexa and the enormous amount of energy it takes.

Between the massive amount of non-renewable energy required to power their web servers and the pollution generated by its delivery service, Amazon’s carbon footprint continues to grow. In 2019, staff protests prompted shareholders to confront management, to demand a plan for climate change and a reduction of the company’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Watch the video above for the full story.

The Internet of Everything, from CBC Docs POV is a fast, funny and enlightening look at what happens when we opt for the convenience of connected “smart” objects, without fully understanding the consequences for our health, our communities, or the planet.

Watch The Internet of Everything on CBC Docs POV.

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