Posted on 05/07/2019 6:13:49 AM PDT by C19fan
Would you let a stranger eavesdrop in your home and keep the recordings? For most people, the answer is, "Are you crazy?"
Yet that's essentially what Amazon has been doing to millions of us with its assistant Alexa in microphone-equipped Echo speakers. And it's hardly alone: Bugging our homes is Silicon Valley's next frontier.
Many smart-speaker owners don't realize it, but Amazon keeps a copy of everything Alexa records after it hears its name. Apple's Siri, and until recently Google's Assistant, by default also keep recordings to help train their artificial intelligences.
(Excerpt) Read more at ctpost.com ...
Giving up privacy for convenience is not my idea of a good deal. It seems to be a tool for the lazy.
1960s: “Shhhhhhh! I think the government is tapping my phone ...”
2010s: “Alexa! Does the CIA have any good chicken recipes?”
We tried one out of curiosity. Lasted about a week; found no practical use or it and only used the thing a few times to play some music.
What REALLY pissed us off is if I didn’t specifically say “Play song on Pandora”, it would sign me up for amazon music service “auto-magically”. Sneaky bezos bastards..
I’m quite sure my smart phone does that too, it’s just not so obvious about it.
I’ve asked Alexa if Jeff Bezos is EVIL.
She claims to not know.
If this is what Bezos’s paper is reporting, the truth may be far worse.
How To Turn Off and BLOCK Microphone on Laptops and iPhone and Cover Webcams
The stuff i say in my household is the stuff of novels and cinema. It is subject to copyright, and that means a big, fat, royalty check from Amazon each quarter.
Not me because I do not own one.
Bfl
I use a Version 2 [it runs on any 5V USB power source] as an internet radio in my 15 yr old SUV. [Data come from a small, portable hotspot.]
I can leave it in the car as it only cost $30.
Whenever I’m at a friend’s house that has Alexa, I always like to say, “Alexa, which room in the white house is the best one to plant the bomb in.”
Or something like that.
My sister had an Alexa in her house. We had some financial business to discuss so I asked her to remove the thing like put it in the garage or something. She thought I was nuts, but complied.
Now after hearing all the news about it, she is Alexa free.
So is NSA, CIA, IRS, State Police, England, Australia, New Zealand Russia, Iran.....
When your door is answered by growling canines you don’t need Alexa or Ring.
OTOH, it just might provide an alibi when you otherwise might not otherwise have one.
The Culinary Institute of America probably does.
There was a PBS show called Culinary Secrets Of The CIA. I saw it pass through on different satellite feeds.
Basically, silicon valley is tracking lazy people
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.