Artificial intelligence was an important topic at this year’s CES in Las Vegas in early January. Technology companies showed new products with digital features for daily use. At the same time, consumer and privacy groups announced the annual “Worst in Show” awards. These awards highlight products that may cause problems with privacy, safety, or waste. The main award went to a smart refrigerator made by Samsung. The refrigerator uses voice control and cameras to check food. Judges said these features may not be useful for a product that should focus on keeping food cold. Groups such as Consumer Reports and iFixit organized the awards independently from CES.

The judges said products were chosen based on design problems and possible risks. New features added to Amazon Ring doorbells were also criticized. Experts linked to the Electronic Frontier Foundation warned that more monitoring tools could affect privacy. Specialists said collecting too much data over time may cause security problems. Environmental concerns were raised about products that use electronic parts only once, which can increase waste. Organizers said the awards aim to improve future product design as artificial intelligence becomes more common in daily life.