The ‘Worst in Show’ CES Products Put Your Data at Risk and Cause Waste

The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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The ‘Worst in Show’ CES Products Put Your Data at Risk and Cause Waste

The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

So much of the technology showcased at CES includes gadgets made to improve consumers' lives — whether by leveraging AI to make devices that help people become more efficient, by creating companions to cure loneliness or by providing tools that help people with mental and physical health.
But not all innovation is good, according to a panel of self-described dystopia experts that has judged some products as “Worst in Show." The award that no company wants to win calls out the “least repairable, least private, and least sustainable products on display."
“We’re seeing more and more of these things that have basically surveillance technology built into them, and it enables some cool things,” Liz Chamberlain, director of sustainability at the e-commerce site iFixit told The Associated Press. “But it also means that now we’ve got microphones and cameras in our washing machines, refrigerators and that really is an industry-wide problem.”
The fourth annual contest announced its decisions Thursday.
A new smart ring every few years? Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, awarded the Ultrahuman Rare Luxury Smart Ring the title of “least repairable.”
The rings, which come in colors like dune and desert sand, cost $2,200. Wiens said the jewelry “looks sleek but hides a major flaw: its battery only lasts 500 charges.” Worse, he said, is the fact that replacing the battery is impossible without destroying the device entirely.
“Luxury items may be fleeting, but two years of use for $2,200 is a new low,” he said.
An AI-powered smart crib? Bosch’s “Revol” crib uses sensors, cameras and AI that the company says can help monitor vital signs like how an infant is sleeping, their heart and respiratory rates and more. The crib can also rock gently if the baby needs help falling asleep and signal to parents if a blanket or other object is interfering with breathing.
The company says users can how and where their data is stored. Bosch also says the crib can be transformed into a desk as children get older.
But EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn said the crib preys on parents' fears and “collects excessive data about babies via a camera, microphone, and even a radar sensor.”
“Parents expect safety and comfort — not surveillance and privacy risks — in their children’s cribs,” she said in the report.
Too much waste? Although AI is everywhere at CES, Stacey Higginbotham, a policy Fellow at Consumer Reports, felt that SoundHound AI’s In-Car Commerce Ecosystem, powered by its Automotive AI, pushes it to unnecessary extremes.
The feature “increases energy consumption, encourages wasteful takeout consumption and distracts drivers—all while adding little value,” Higginbotham said. That landed the in-car system as “least sustainable” on the list.
Vulnerable to hacking TP-Link's Archer BE900 router won for “least secure” of CES. The company is a top-selling router brand in the US But its products are vulnerable to hacking, said Paul Roberts, founder of The Security Ledger.
"By Chinese law, TP-Link must report security flaws to the government before alerting the public, creating a significant national security risk," he said. “Yet TP-Link showcased its Archer BE900 router at CES without addressing these vulnerabilities.”
Who asked for this? The awards also feature a category called “who asked for this?” Top of that list was Samsung's Bespoke AI Washing Machine, which Nathan Proctor, senior director of US PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, said is filled “with features no one needs,” including the ability to make phone calls.
“These add-ons only make the appliance more expensive, fragile, and harder to repair,” he said.
The worst overall Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association called the LG “AI Home Inside 2.0 Refrigerator with ThinkQ” the worst product overall. The fridge adds “flashy features,” Gordon-Byrne said, including a screen and internet connection.
“But these come at a cost,” Gordon-Byrne said. “Shorter software support, higher energy consumption, and expensive repairs reduce the fridge’s practical lifespan, leaving consumers with an expensive, wasteful gadget.”



Video Game Actors Are Voting on a New Contract. Here’s What It Means for AI in Gaming

A picketer holds a sign for the SAG-AFTRA video game strike at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on Aug. 1, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP)
A picketer holds a sign for the SAG-AFTRA video game strike at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on Aug. 1, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP)
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Video Game Actors Are Voting on a New Contract. Here’s What It Means for AI in Gaming

A picketer holds a sign for the SAG-AFTRA video game strike at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on Aug. 1, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP)
A picketer holds a sign for the SAG-AFTRA video game strike at Warner Bros. Games headquarters on Aug. 1, 2024, in Burbank, Calif. (AP)

An 11-month strike by video game performers could formally end this week if members ratify a deal that delivers pay raises, control over their likenesses and artificial intelligence protections.

The agreement feels "like diamond amounts of pressure suddenly lifted," said Sarah Elmaleh, a voice actor and chair of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists' interactive branch negotiating committee.

Union members have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific to vote on ratifying the tentative agreement.

Voice and body performers for video games raised concerns that unregulated use of AI could displace them and threaten their artistic autonomy.

"It’s obviously far from resolved," Elmaleh said. "But the idea that that we’re in a zone where we might have concluded this feels like a lightening and a relief."

AI concerns are especially dire in the video game industry, where human performers infuse characters with distinctive movements, shrieks, falls and plot-twisting dialogue.

"I hope and I believe that our members, when they look back on this, will say all of the sacrifices and difficulty we put ourselves through to achieve this agreement will ultimately be worth it because we do have the key elements that we need to feel confident and moving forward in this business," said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator.

Here’s a look at the contract currently up for vote, and what it means for the future of the video game industry.

How did the current strike play out? Video game performers went on strike last July following nearly two years of failed negotiations with major game studios, as both sides remained split over generative AI regulations.

More than 160 games signed interim agreements accepting AI provisions SAG-AFTRA was seeking, the union said, which allowed some work to continue.

The video game industry is a massive global industry, generating an estimated $187 billion in 2024, according to game market forecaster Newzoo.

"OD," and "Physint" were two games delayed due to the strike during the filming and casting stage, video game developer Hideo Kojima wrote in December. Riot Games, a video game developer, announced that same month that some new skins in "League of Legends" would have to use existing voice-overs, since new content couldn't be recorded by striking actors. Skins are cosmetic items that can change the visual appearance of a player and is sometimes equipped with new voice-overs and unique recorded lines.

The proposed contract "builds on three decades of successful partnership between the interactive entertainment industry and the union" to deliver "historic wage increases" and "industry-leading AI provisions," wrote Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game producers involved in the deal.

"We look forward to continuing to work with performers to create new and engaging entertainment experiences for billions of players throughout the world," Cooling wrote.

Video game performers had previously gone on strike in October 2016, with a tentative deal reached 11 months later. That strike helped secure a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists. The agreement was ratified with 90% support, with 10% of members voting.

The proposed contract secures an increase in performer compensation of just over 15% upon ratification and an additional 3% increase each year of the three-year contract.

How would AI use change in video games? AI concerns have taken center stage as industries across various sectors attempt to keep up with the fast-evolving technology. It’s a fight that Hollywood writers and actors undertook during the historic film and TV strikes that forced the industry to a stop in 2023.

"In the last few years, it’s become obvious that we are at an inflection point where rules of the road have to be set for AI, and if they aren’t, the consequences are potentially very serious," Crabtree-Ireland said. "I think that really made this negotiation extra important for all of us."

SAG-AFTRA leaders have billed the issues behind the labor dispute — and AI in particular — as an existential crisis for performers. Game voice actors and motion capture artists’ likenesses, they say, could be replicated by AI and used without their consent and without fair compensation.

The proposed contract delineates clear restrictions on when and how video game companies can create digital replicas, which use AI to generate new performances that weren't recorded by an actor.

Employers must obtain written permission from a performer to create a digital replica — consent which must be granted during the performer’s lifetime and is valid after death unless otherwise limited, the contract states. The time spent creating a digital replica will be compensated as the same amount of work time it would have required for a new performance.

The agreement also requires the employer to provide the performer with a usage report that details how the replica was used and calculates the expected compensation.

Elmaleh, who has been voice acting since 2010 and had to turn down projects throughout the strike, said securing these gains required voice actors bring vulnerability and openness to the bargaining table.

"We talked a lot about the personal, the way it affects our displacement as workers and just the sustainability of our careers," Elmaleh said. "Our work involves your inner child. It’s being very vulnerable, it’s being playful."

What’s next for the video game industry? The tentative agreement centers on consent, compensation and transparency, which union leaders say are key elements needed for the industry to keep progressing.

As the contract is considered by union members, Elmaleh and Crabtree-Ireland said further work needs to be done to ensure the provisions are as broad as necessary.

"Even though there’s a deal that’s been made now, and we’ve locked in a lot of really crucial protections and guardrails, the things that we haven’t been able to achieve yet, we’re going to be continuing to fight for them," Crabtree-Ireland said. "Every time these contracts expire is our chance to improve upon them."

Elmaleh said she hopes both the video game companies and performers can soon work collaboratively to develop guidelines on AI as the technology evolves — a process she said should start well the proposed contract would expire in October 2028.

Leading negotiations has felt like a full-time job for Elmaleh, who took on the role in a volunteer capacity. As the efforts die down, she said she anxiously anticipates returning to video game acting in a landscape that is safer for performers.

Voice acting "is core to who I am. It’s why I fought so hard for this. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t love what I do so much. I think it’s so special and worthy of protection," she said.