ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the implications for the use of so-called 'intelligence' in consumer products by drawing upon research work that has been undertaken within the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI). By taking a non-specialist perspective of the field of artificial intelligence and reviewing the emergence of intelligence from a human factors and product design approach, issues are raised concerning intelligent or 'smart' products. In this chapter, the following question is considered: is the use of intelligence inevitable or does the concept of products capable of thinking reach beyond the normal boundaries of acceptance behaviour for new technologies?
