Isaac Asimov’s first law of robotics stated that “a robot may not harm a human being.” While we don’t remember Rosie ever bludgeoning Elroy Jetson with her duster, our old friend, Alice Wang, not only worries about the danger of artificial intelligence in the home of the future, but also questions whether or not current home mechanisms are already doing us harm. Her thesis project examines the effect scales play on the human psyche. Wang has created three scales which reverse the effects of weight consciousness by giving the person being weighed the choice of knowing their actual weight.

The accuracy of the white lies scale depends on closeness to the center of the device. If the weight watcher wants to be lighter, they can stand closer to the edge. The number placement on the half-truth model doesn’t allow the subject to know their weight and must rely on their companion for a truthful reading. The open secrets model text messages one’s weight to their phone, where they can decide whether or not they not they want to know the results. Our question, though: who gets the scale’s cell phone bill?