How to Use Technology For Good, ecobee CEO Stuart Lombard at Collision

Only a short distance away from ecobee’s Toronto headquarters, Founder and CEO Stuart Lombard recently spoke to technologists and business leaders at one of the fastest-growing, global tech conferences: Collision. Stuart’s remarks carried a message of optimism about the potential for technology to do great things; things that matter. In particular, he emphasized the responsibility tech companies have to develop products that better serve the everyday needs of people and society as a whole.

The problem is, sometimes the tech industry falls short on this responsibility. Stuart pointed to the growing tension between society and technological advancements: in a world where privacy has been trampled and anti-competitive monopolies continue to be created, people are finding themselves trapped in what he calls a “distraction treadmill” that over-notifies and dominates our lives.

“As technologists, we have a choice,” he said. “We can keep discovering new ways to monopolize and monetize, or we can gather together and create new ways to help each other do good. Each one of us has the power to change the trajectory of the world as we know it. And that is an awesome opportunity and one that I believe we shouldn’t ignore.”

Throughout his presentation, Stuart spoke directly to visionaries from some of the world’s most disruptive tech companies about the importance of finding ways for technology to improve the future for their families, their communities, and the world. He shared his own personal experience of building a vision for ecobee over a decade ago, citing how he used his team’s expertise to develop a product that better served those who actually use it—real people, busy people, and moms and dads searching for ways to embed enhanced comfort and control in the very framework of their dynamic households. “Technology should fade into the background,” he explained. “It should free you from the chaos of everyday life and give you a place to feel relief—to focus on the things that really matter: your family, your friends and the time you spend together.”

At ecobee, we believe in a world where clean, affordable energy is available to all. We also believe in using data to do good. Our smart thermostats and accompanying sensors understand the way families use energy and how individual homes perform differently. This data allows us to find opportunities for homeowners to take advantage of lower energy prices and then use it when it’s more expensive, creating a more symbiotic relationship with North America’s electrical grid. And so far, the impact has been incredible. “We estimate our customers have saved over 7 TWh of power—that’s enough energy to take Las Vegas off the grid.” But why stop there?

We can’t wait to see this sector develop into something even more because the connected home is key to keeping us comfortable and safe, but also, it’s key to saving energy for our families and for the planet. Let’s continue to make the world better by remembering that technology is here to serve us. Let’s not just do it for ourselves, but also for our families and for the the ultimate home that connects us all—the planet.

Watch Stuart's full-length speech on Using the Connected Home to Reconnect here.