WHAT IF YOUR HOME BECAME
TOO SMART?
Have you ever thought about how many screens there are in your home?
I went around mine and counted them: 26. You might be wondering where all of those are. They range from TV screens to cat food dispensers, washing machines, kitchen appliances, home assistants — even the small display on my printer. Despite their different forms, sizes, and purposes, they all share one thing: they are screens. And most of the time, we barely notice them.
But what do these screens show when they’re not in use?
The idea of the “abandoned screen” explores exactly that. When we’re not actively using a device, its screen often loses its purpose. Many simply go blank, while others default to displaying the time. But do we really need a clock on every screen in our home? Does anyone actually rely on them, or do we all just check the time on our phones instead?
If we rule out the clock and the blank screen, we’re left with a question: what else could these abandoned screens be used for?
An aticle by Merle Günther
Thursday, April 23, 2026
My design concept, SENTI, explores the possibilities—and risks—of connecting and activating these unused screens through a shared, intelligent presence: an AI home assistant that exists across every device in our living space.
To fully understand what “Senti” is we need to take a look at our current time and find out what a smart AI-Home Assistant even is.
Today, almost every new device is labeled as “smart,” but what does that actually mean? According to the Meriam-Webster Dictionary, smart generally means “having or showing a high degree of mental ability”. In conjunction of Devices it means “ operating by automation“ or “using a built-in microprocessor for automatic operation, for processing of data, or for achieving greater versatility”
In our homes, this often takes the form of AI assistants from companies like Google, Apple, or Amazon. However, a common issue is compatibility. Devices from different brands—or older devices we already own—don’t always integrate seamlessly into these ecosystems.
SENTI addresses this by introducing an AI that is not bound to a single device. Instead, it moves fluidly between all available screens in the home.
SENTI appears on the screen closest to you, speaking and interacting in real time. For each Object it inhabits it takes on a different personality and appearance. As you move through your home, SENTI transitions with you — leaving one screen and reappearing on the next, as if walking from device to device. It can also control the functions of each device it inhabits, just as you would manually.
As its name suggests, SENTI is imagined as a sentient system—an assistant with human-like emotions.
In psychology, the anthropomorphizing of inanimate objects—attributing human traits to them—is considered a natural human tendency, often linked to coping with loneliness. Building on this idea, SENTI has the potential to fulfill a need for social connection, offering a constant, responsive presence within the home.
But how would people actually feel about a sentient AI living among them?
When I introduced the fictional concept of SENTI to people around me, the reactions varied widely—from curiosity and fascination to discomfort, fear, and even rejection:
These reactions reflect a broader cultural tension. Many dystopian stories have already explored similar ideas. In the German Netflix series Cassandra (2025), for example, a smart home AI turns against its inhabitants—locking them inside and threatening their safety.
While such scenarios may seem exaggerated or distant, they point to real concerns. Artificial intelligence is already deeply embedded in our daily lives, and opinions about its role are often divided and extreme.
My first idea for the topic “abandoned screens” started with a simple question: What if your appliances could annoy you?
I imagined everyday objects taking on slightly provocative roles—a toothbrush that encourages you to brush your teeth by subtly insulting you, or other household devices that interrupt your routines with unwanted comments. The idea focused on flipping the relationship between user and object, giving devices a more active—and slightly irritating—presence.
While developing this concept, I began researching topics such as artificial intelligence and home assistants. As I went deeper into this research, my perspective started to shift. I became less interested in individual “smart” objects acting on their own, and more interested in the broader system they could be part of.
I came across existing AI assistants and the growing network of connected devices within the home. This led me to a new line of thinking: instead of many separate, semi-intelligent objects, what if there was a single presence that could exist across all of them?
From that point on, the idea evolved into SENTI—an AI that moves between devices, inhabits screens, and turns abandoned displays into points of interaction. What began as a humorous and slightly confrontational concept gradually developed into a more complex exploration of connection, control, and the emotional relationship between humans and intelligent systems.
SENTI exists between comfort and control, connection and unease. It reimagines the passive screens around us as active participants in our lives—but also raises questions about dependency, autonomy, and trust.
If our devices not only respond to us, but begin to feel present, emotional, even alive—what does that mean for the relationship between humans and machines?
And at what point does assistance become something more?
//If that exists, we would be in danger. What if I don’t comply with it and then it decides I won’t be needed anymore?
//I don’t like that everything always needs to be smart nowadays
//Devices being smart is one thing but if they became too smart… I don’t know how to feel about that
Abandoned Screens
Reflection
How I got the Idea
Human Connection and Discomfort
SENTI - Design concept
//the human component of having emotions is what distinct us from machines or robots. If you take that away – How will you justify the Robot/AI serving us?
WHAT IF YOUR HOME BECAME
TOO SMART?
Have you ever thought about how many screens there are in your home?
I went around mine and counted them: 26. You might be wondering where all of those are. They range from TV screens to cat food dispensers, washing machines, kitchen appliances, home assistants — even the small display on my printer. Despite their different forms, sizes, and purposes, they all share one thing: they are screens. And most of the time, we barely notice them.
But what do these screens show when they’re not in use?
The idea of the “abandoned screen” explores exactly that. When we’re not actively using a device, its screen often loses its purpose. Many simply go blank, while others default to displaying the time. But do we really need a clock on every screen in our home? Does anyone actually rely on them, or do we all just check the time on our phones instead?
If we rule out the clock and the blank screen, we’re left with a question: what else could these abandoned screens be used for?
An aticle by Merle Günther
Thursday, April 23, 2026
My design concept, SENTI, explores the possibilities—and risks—of connecting and activating these unused screens through a shared, intelligent presence: an AI home assistant that exists across every device in our living space.
To fully understand what “Senti” is we need to take a look at our current time and find out what a smart AI-Home Assistant even is.
Today, almost every new device is labeled as “smart,” but what does that actually mean? According to the Meriam-Webster Dictionary, smart generally means “having or showing a high degree of mental ability”. In conjunction of Devices it means “ operating by automation“ or “using a built-in microprocessor for automatic operation, for processing of data, or for achieving greater versatility”
In our homes, this often takes the form of AI assistants from companies like Google, Apple, or Amazon. However, a common issue is compatibility. Devices from different brands—or older devices we already own—don’t always integrate seamlessly into these ecosystems.
SENTI addresses this by introducing an AI that is not bound to a single device. Instead, it moves fluidly between all available screens in the home.
SENTI appears on the screen closest to you, speaking and interacting in real time. For each Object it inhabits it takes on a different personality and appearance. As you move through your home, SENTI transitions with you — leaving one screen and reappearing on the next, as if walking from device to device. It can also control the functions of each device it inhabits, just as you would manually.
As its name suggests, SENTI is imagined as a sentient system—an assistant with human-like emotions.
In psychology, the anthropomorphizing of inanimate objects—attributing human traits to them—is considered a natural human tendency, often linked to coping with loneliness. Building on this idea, SENTI has the potential to fulfill a need for social connection, offering a constant, responsive presence within the home.
But how would people actually feel about a sentient AI living among them?
When I introduced the fictional concept of SENTI to people around me, the reactions varied widely—from curiosity and fascination to discomfort, fear, and even rejection:
These reactions reflect a broader cultural tension. Many dystopian stories have already explored similar ideas. In the German Netflix series Cassandra (2025), for example, a smart home AI turns against its inhabitants—locking them inside and threatening their safety.
While such scenarios may seem exaggerated or distant, they point to real concerns. Artificial intelligence is already deeply embedded in our daily lives, and opinions about its role are often divided and extreme.
My first idea for the topic “abandoned screens” started with a simple question: What if your appliances could annoy you?
I imagined everyday objects taking on slightly provocative roles—a toothbrush that encourages you to brush your teeth by subtly insulting you, or other household devices that interrupt your routines with unwanted comments. The idea focused on flipping the relationship between user and object, giving devices a more active—and slightly irritating—presence.
While developing this concept, I began researching topics such as artificial intelligence and home assistants. As I went deeper into this research, my perspective started to shift. I became less interested in individual “smart” objects acting on their own, and more interested in the broader system they could be part of.
I came across existing AI assistants and the growing network of connected devices within the home. This led me to a new line of thinking: instead of many separate, semi-intelligent objects, what if there was a single presence that could exist across all of them?
From that point on, the idea evolved into SENTI—an AI that moves between devices, inhabits screens, and turns abandoned displays into points of interaction. What began as a humorous and slightly confrontational concept gradually developed into a more complex exploration of connection, control, and the emotional relationship between humans and intelligent systems.
SENTI exists between comfort and control, connection and unease. It reimagines the passive screens around us as active participants in our lives—but also raises questions about dependency, autonomy, and trust.
If our devices not only respond to us, but begin to feel present, emotional, even alive—what does that mean for the relationship between humans and machines?
And at what point does assistance become something more?
//the human component of having emotions is what distinct us from machines or robots. If you take that away – How will you justify the Robot/AI serving us?
//If that exists, we would be in danger. What if I don’t comply with it and then it decides I won’t be needed anymore?
//I don’t like that everything always needs to be smart nowadays
//Devices being smart is one thing but if they became too smart… I don’t know how to feel about that
Abandoned Screens
Reflection
How I got the Idea
Human Connection and Discomfort
SENTI - Design concept