Many objects of everyday life are now equipped with microprocessors. This trend is expected to strengthen in the coming years. Objects become "intelligent", that is, able to react appropriately to different situations, adapting to their environment. Various regulation functions are already common in homes. The home automation sector is growing rapidly. The operation of heating, lighting or appliances is automatically managed by getting signals from different sensors and can be remotely controlled by means of a mobile phone, for example, to minimize energy consumption. All kinds of objects and equipment are becoming "smart" on a wide range of scales: cities, electric grids, cars, clothes, etc. A simple pot of flowers equipped with sensors and a microprocessor becomes able to control all the parameters on which depends the good health of the plant and to manage optimally its watering as well as its nourishment in nutriments. Smart objects can also provide information of all kinds, in the form of augmented reality, to inform a visitor, recreate a site as it existed in the past or organize a virtual trip. Smart objects are part of a vast, interconnected system connected by an Internet of Things. Their synergy contributes to the development of a global artificial intelligence, through a cloud of interconnected servers. The behavior of intelligent objects is gradually approaching that of living beings. There are already many robots capable of mimicking insects, birds, fish or humans. One can imagine eventually objects capable of repairing themselves and reproducing themselves. The threat associated with nano-components capable of self-replication, had been evoked in 1986 by K. Eric Drexler. Even if it is still science fiction, the fact remains that the increasing autonomy of connected objects carries the risk of a loss of control. Tomorrow, cars will become autonomous, that is to say able to go from one point to another without the intervention of a driver. It will be, therefore, much easier to share a vehicle, which will be able to present and leave after use, without the intervention of a human operator. The relation to objects is radically transformed. Objects are better used, but the user gradually loses all initiative. This evolution is supposed to liberate human beings but actually increases their dependence on all the machines they are using. Objects (watches, smartphones, computers) already exert strong constraints on human life. While opening up new opportunities, smart objects, networked and geolocated, will exert a firm grip on society, imposing their pace and their choices. Because of the complexity of this interconnected world, its control could gradually escape not only the ordinary citizen, but even the most advanced experts, artificial intelligence becoming the only available tool to ensure it. Human destiny will then be delivered to robots, exercising a dictatorship all the more dangerous as it is devoid of any feeling.
De nombreux objets de la vie quotidienne sont, dès à présent, équipés de microprocesseurs. Cette tendance devrait se renforcer dans les années à venir. Les objets deviennent ainsi « intelligents », c’est-à-dire capables de réagir de façon appropriée à différentes situations, en s’adaptant à leur environnement. Des fonctions diverses de régulation équipent déjà couramment les habitations. Le secteur de la domotique se développe rapidement. Le fonctionnement du chauffage, de l’éclairage ou des équipements électroménagers est géré automatiquement à partir des signaux provenant de différents capteurs. De tels systèmes, commandés à distance au moyen d’un téléphone portable, sont aussi capables d’anticiper un changement et d’optimiser une fonction, de façon, par exemple, à minimiser une consommation d’énergie. Toutes sortes d’objets et d’équipements deviennent « intelligents » (smart), à des échelles très diverses : villes (smart cities), réseaux électriques (smart grids), voitures (smart cars), vêtements (smart clothes), etc. Un simple pot de fleurs équipé de capteurs et d’un microprocesseur devient capable de contrôler l’ensemble des paramètres dont dépend la bonne santé de la plante et de gérer de façon optimale son arrosage ainsi que son alimentation en nutriments. Les objets intelligents peuvent également fournir des informations de toutes sortes, sous la forme d’une réalité augmentée, en vue de renseigner un visiteur, recréer un site tel qu’il existait dans le passé ou organiser un voyage virtuel.
