‘Smart’ devices, with their algorithmic logic, are permeating the domestic space presenting a new set of concerns in architecture. With the incorporation of a wide range of ‘smart’ devices into the infrastructure of the home; architecture now operates as a node between the domestic space and data-driven processes.

As a way of ‘slowing down’ research on the topic, based on Isabelle Stengers’ ‘figure of the idiot’ this paper will examine the process of dataification relating to domestic space by tracing the elements of architecture that have been affected by ‘smart’ devices.

Through the figure of the idIoT, this paper will critically analyze the process of data extraction as applied to the domestic space. As Isabelle Stengers suggests, the idiot creates an interstice, a ‘space to think’, which ultimately pushes us to ask, “what are we busy doing?”. The IdIoT will describe how algorithmic logic presents a series of controversies and will problematize the ambiguities of ‘smart’ home technology.

Keywords: smart, home, idiot, IoT, architecture, data, control, power, critical