When did smart house technology begin?

"Smart house technology" is a general catch-all phrase used to refer broadly to home automation devices, or devices that cause your home's lighting, climate control, doors, Windows, et cetera, to respond appropriately to your voice commands or movements. Interestingly, while today's manufacturers struggle to realize the dream of having doors open for you without having to touch the doorknob, or to be able to request a song aloud to no one in particular in a Picardesque manner, only to have it play moments later, the fact is that smart house technology was perfected back in the haze of prehistory, with slaves.