Smart homes in Korea

This article talks about smart homes in Korea:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6179868.stm
I did a project on home automation some time ago and we're just scratching the surface. There are quite some people out there who see HA as a hobby, but the market is starting to get itself organized on better features.

As soon as the more mature electronics producers will start to develop and market some better gadgets and there are standards for ex-change of data, this may actually set off on a very fast pace.

In the vision of HA, you need to see the house as an extension of yourself. It does not only "manage itself", it also manages things around you and all of the house's inhabitants. As soon as the house is empty, it turns itself off :).

The computer that you are now in front of can actually become an integral part of your house. There is not necessarily a need for this computer to stand in one place. Why not move around, do your stuff and still interact with anyone you are talking no matter the room you are in?

The advances and implementations of social networking show how we are picking back up the ways of interaction and finally start to expect our machines to serve us, instead of being slaves to the keyboard or "program implementation" (that's just the way it works, now learn it!)

Korea's smart home shows it is not just about ambience, it is also about providing feedback on certain stuff like washing clothes... Being "smarter" than the inhabitants and giving them tips before the bad things happen.

Is the actual step in HA a house that takes care of its inhabitants? Can the electronic house of the future act as a digital baby-sitter?