Have you ever wondered if walls really could talk what they might say? Soon, you will be able to find out.
39% of UK households used smart devices in 2024, this is projected to grow to over 50% by 2027 and move towards universal adoption by 2030. (Source: GreenMatch) And those smart devices are about to get even smarter.
As The Guardian reports, ‘The future version of Alexa...won’t just respond to what you say, it will respond to the tone and volume of your voice too.’ Based on your mood, ‘digital wallpaper that changes colour depending on the emotions present in the home,’ may instantly empathise with you.
Google has already taken a big step toward real conversation with the AI launch of Gemini for Home. This improved tech allows you to hold back and forth conversations, ask follow up questions, and speak more naturally with your in-home system. So, today’s smart homes can already follow[CR1.1] a complex conversation. But current systems simply remember context within a single interaction, then quickly forget. ‘Without memory of your devices, habits, and routines, even the smartest assistant is flying blind,’ says tech-mag The Verge.
The next leap is ‘persistent household memory.’ A truly conversational home will remember past discussions, recognise ongoing situations, and adapt to your long term habits.
This is being researched, but it hasn’t reached mainstream Google and Alexa products yet. When it does, your walls may talk to you in a meaningful way.
As well as detecting your mood, they might be able to give you advice on how to improve it. Presumably, given recent leaps in AI voice generation, in a suitably Freudian accent.
That done, The Guardian suggests, ‘your mirror will become much fancier. It will provide morning affirmations, remind you to take your pills, help you apply your makeup and encourage children to brush their teeth.’
Ecosystems like Hive, Google Nest, and Amazon Alexa will act as central hubs, enabling users to manage not just heating, lighting, and security via smartphones, but truly intelligent homes.
The financial stakes are huge. FB Insights, notes, ‘The global smart home market reached USD 147.52 billion in 2025. It is projected to reach USD 848.47 billion by 2034.’
According to Fortune magazine, ‘Gemini will understand complex requests and maintain context Google gives the example of searching for a song with limited information: “Hey Google, play the song from the movie where a bunch of oil workers fly to space to blow up an asteroid.”’
So, in the near future, like it or not, your walls really will be able to talk. Hopefully, they won’t give too much away to the neighbours.