Posted on 12/29/2022 9:05:06 AM PST by Red Badger
In a recent report by Eileen Guo from MIT Technology Review, it is revealed that a robot vacuum took photos of a woman on the toilet in her home. These private images were leaked and ended up on Facebook, violating iRobot’s strict non-disclosure agreement.
In 2020, iRobot distributed “special development robots with hardware and software modifications that are not and never were present on iRobot consume products for purchase.”
These special devices were reportedly labeled with a green sticker that reminded its users there was “video recording in progress.” It was the responsibility of the participants to “remove anything they deem sensitive from any space the robot operates in, including children.
According to the company, the Roomba 17 series vacuums were given to “paid collectors and employees” who signed waivers stating they were aware data streams, including video, would be sent back to the company to use as training material.
The images taken by the Roomba were then transferred to Scale AI, a company that labels audio, photo, and video data in order to train artificial intelligence and build smarter robots.
Matt Beane, an assistant professor in the technology management programs at the University of California, Santa Barbara, briefly explained how individuals review robot data for the purpose of data annotation and AI improvements.
“There’s always a group of humans sitting somewhere – usually in a windowless room just doing a bunch of point-and-click: ‘Yes, that is an object or not an object,'” said Beane
Some of the private, sensitive images ended up being posted to closed social media groups. The shared images included ones of a woman sitting on the toilet with her shorts pulled down to her mid-thigh.
After the publication of the photos, iRobot CEO Colin Angle confirmed that “iRobot is terminating its relationship with the service provider who leaked the images, is actively investigating the matter, and is taking measures to help prevent a similar leak by any service provider in the future.”
Justin Brookman, the director of tech policy at Consumer Reports and former policy trade director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Technology Research and Investigation suggested that the participants in iRobot’s data collection initiative may not have known that the recorded footage was going to be reviewed by humans.
Brookman argued, “It’s not expected that human beings are going to be reviewing the raw footage.”
Also weighing in on the matter is Jessica Vitak, an information scientist and professor at the University of Maryland. She pointed out that “we literally treat machines differently than we treat humans.”
“It’s much easier for me to accept a cute little vacuum, you know, moving around my space [than] somebody walking around my house with a camera,” said Vitak, warning of the trust we give to robots that could be recording moments we would not want to be recorded.
Isn’t there a setting on your dishwasher wifi to clean all your data based on Uncle Sam’s censorship rules ?
Roombas can open locked doors? Pretty talented.
Nah, I don’t think your dishwasher has a photographic capability.
By the way, you really want to go with those curtains on the kitchen window?
The manual (LG) says I could use it to clean my dishes while I’m away from home by using my smartphone and an app I must download.
Why would I even want to do that???
I don’t have a smartphone, just a landline...................
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
It supposedly will tell me when I need to add more rinse stuff....................
We gave up after our 3rd one due to reliability issues. None had a camera.
People who live alone don’t necessarily bother to lock, or even close the bathroom door...
These were special models, not available to the general public......Engineering models..........
The 48 inch TV my son installed in my living room is aware of when I am in the room watching or not. I don;’t know if it has this same function when it is not turned on since it is ‘always on’ so it can react to button commands.
If you are one of those that feel they NEED constant contact with you home . . . . you’re growin’ pot and you’re part of the problem
To give the government a better understanding of how many people are in your home and to take over control of the devices as necessary.
I just need a new kitchen sink. Every time I turn my back it’s full of dirty dishes.
When you start getting creepy emails from Admiral Rachel Levine saying that you need more bran in your life, you know the new terlit’s reporting to the feds.
“Open the pod bay door Hal.’’
I could see it being very useful to end these nagging questions.
“Honey, did you remember to start the dishwasher before we left?”
I know that “smart” garage doors can notify you of leaving them up.
Does the Roomba have it's own Facebook account? I'm sure zuckerberg and the other flamin' libs at facebook made sure the Roomba got a ride to the polls on election day too!
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