Google developing eavesdropping software

The Register ^ | 2006-09-03 | FaultLine

[dayglored]

The first thing that came out of our mouths when we heard that Google is working on a system that listens to what's on your TV playing in the background, and then serves you relevant adverts, was "that's cool, but dangerous".

The idea appeared in Technology Review citing Peter Norvig, director of research at Google, who says these ideas will show up eventually in real Google products - sooner rather than later.

The idea is to use the existing PC microphone to listen to whatever is heard in the background, be it music, your phone going off or the TV turned down. The PC then identifies it, using fingerprinting, and then shows you relevant content, whether that's adverts or search results, or a chat room on the subject.

And, of course, we wouldn’t put it past Google to store that information away, along with the search terms it keeps that you've used, and the web pages you have visited, to help it create a personalised profile that feeds you just the right kind of adverts/content. And given that it is trying to develop alternative approaches to TV advertising, it could go the extra step and help send "content relevant" advertising to your TV as well.

We suspect that such a world would be rather eerie, with a constant feeling of déjà vu every time anyone watched TV...

[dayglored]

I generally give Google the benefit of the doubt, and granted this is The Register, which often wears their tin-foil hat a little too tight.

But this is scary. Google will use your computer microphone to listen to what's going on in your room, analyze it, see if it matches a known TV show, and serve up relevant ads on the computer screen? This is very worrisome...

The technology for doing this is described in a paper from this past June in Ars Technica: Google researchers use ambient audio to augment the television experience

[dayglored]

Tech ping?

[Boazo]

Hoax

[dayglored]

> Hoax

Sure? The technical paper sounded plausible.

Gotta debunking link?

[dayglored]

Okay, I'm willing to argue it's not a hoax. Here's the link to the paper on the Google blogsite:

Interactive TV: Conference and Best Paper

"...We also presented our work at the conference. Our paper [pdf] (which received the best paper award :) focused on using broadcast viewing to automatically present relevant information on a web browser. We showed how to sample the ambient sound emitted from a TV and automatically determine what is being watched from a small signature of the sound -- all with complete privacy and minuscule effort. The system could keep up with users while they channel surf, presenting them with a real-time forum about a live political debate one minute and an ad-hoc chat room for a sporting event in the next..."

[Captainpaintball]

When my roommate uses the computer, Google would think we were watching the "baked bean scene" from Blazing Saddles on a continuous loop!

[Northern Alliance]

The idea is to use the existing PC microphone...

What existing PC microphone? And if I had one, it sure as hell would not be on all the time.

Sounds like a hoax to me.

[Codename - Ron Benjamin]

Since the success of such a technology depends on the victims keeping their mics open when they shouldn't, I expect this to be a success between CNN users.

[Dallas59]

Where is the PC MC????

[dayglored]

> When my roommate uses the computer, Google would think we were watching the "baked bean scene" from Blazing Saddles on a continuous loop!

I wonder, if they hear what sounds like porn on the TV, will they serve up ads for porn sites? This could get really weird...

[dayglored]

> What existing PC microphone? And if I had one, it sure as hell would not be on all the time.

Many new PCs come with speakers and some form of built-in microphone in the speakers or monitor enclosure. In general the mikes don't have a mute button, much less an on/off switch (granted, some do).

A tremendous number of folks are using audio chat, Skype, etc. and have headsets. Nobody bothers to turn the headset mike off when they take it off.

[dayglored]

> Since the success of such a technology depends on the victims keeping their mics open when they shouldn't, I expect this to be a success between CNN users.

Perhaps, but very few of the folks with mikes ever turn them off.

[mhx]

Would you like to buy some baked beans?

-- Ads by Gooooooogle

[Phil Southern]

bahhhh

[endthematrix]

I posted a thread on smell-a-vison. Imagine getting someones stinky butt email?

[kingu]

Once again, interesting idea, three years late. DVR's have made time shifting television viewing far more commonplace. My 78 year old mother will set her DVR to record the night's television programs, go start dinner, finish, eat (at a table) then retire to the couch to watch her programs.

Using the chase-play features, she'll generally be able to skip every commercial in an evening's broadcast. If she has extra time, or perhaps finishes her meal a little early, she's got 40 hours of programming to watch while the networks tick forward so she can skip commercials.

I can't remember the last time I actually had real live television on in my house - something that Google's technology would require if it was going to match up a small segment signature.

Google, concentrate on getting on demand video up and running. If you want to be anywhere near television, that's where it'll be at.

[Cementjungle]

If this were ever to happen, I would get a mic for my PC and mount it in the cat litter box. Give them something to try to figure out.

[dayglored]

> bahhhh

I presume that means you don't believe the Google paper?

Social- and Interactive-Television Applications Based on Real-Time Ambient-Audio Identification (PDF)

"...we introduce a system that can simply ‘listen’ to ambient audio and connect the viewer with services and related content on the Web. As shown in Figure 1, our system consists of three distinct components: a client-side interface, an audio-database server (with mass-media audio statistics), and a social-application web server. The client-side interface samples and irreversibly compresses the viewer’s ambient audio to summary statistics.

"These statistics are streamed from the viewer’s personal computer to the audio-database server for identification of the background audio (e.g., ‘Seinfeld’ episode 6101, minute 3:03). The audio database transmits this information to the social-application server, which provides personalized and interactive content back to the viewer. Continuing with the previous example, if friends of the viewer were watching the same episode of ‘Seinfeld’ at the same time, the social application server could automatically create an online ad hoc community of these “buddies”. This community allows members to comment on the broadcast material in real time..."

[endthematrix]

"My 78 year old mother will set her DVR "

I always got a laugh how my old man was confounded at technology. Surprised we ever had a microwave or VCR. That old rotary phone bewildered guests...

[dayglored]

> I can't remember the last time I actually had real live television on in my house - something that Google's technology would require if it was going to match up a small segment signature.

That's a very good point.