Google's plan to monitor home activities "crosses a moral boundary" that "needlessly encourages a conflict between science and ethics," says Australia's chief science adviser Alan Finkel. Earlier this month Google obtained a patent on the use of an array of sensors and cameras to monitor home life, and claims the technology has the capability to see the title of the book you're reading in bed. The system could also electronically lock doors and turn off running taps. Speaking at an artificial intelligence (AI) summit at Monash University, Melbourne on Thursday, Finkel likened this to a complete stranger offering you unlimited furniture and non-stick frying pans, in exchange for sitting in your bedroom for the next fortnight to observe your behaviour. "We are repulsed by this prospect not because of its unfamiliarity, but because we innately feel that it violates fundamental principles we rightfully hold dear," Finkel said.