Waze’s navigation software has been influencing drivers’ behavior in the real world for years, algorithmically routing too many cars to residential streets and clogging them. The devices and apps from home-security company Ring have turned neighborhoods into panopticons in which your next door neighbor can become the subject of a notification. Connected medical devices can let an insurance company know if the patient isn’t using the device appropriately, allowing the insurer to stop covering the gadget.

Ten years ago, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen proclaimed that software was eating the world. Today, the hottest features in the latest phones are software updates or AI improvements, not faster chips or new form factors.

But even as technologies fade into the background of our lives, they still play a pervasive role. We still need to examine how technologies might be affecting us, even if—especially if—they’re commonplace.