Posted on 12/31/2022 7:57:21 AM PST by Roman_War_Criminal
We live in the age of surveillance. Cameras (attached to facial recognition systems), satellites, street sensors, license plate readers, drones, credit cards, computers, phones, televisions, “smart” devices, and other technologies watch every move we make. Corporations use this avalanche of data to make money. But does it work? Not always. According to Business Insider, Amazon is on track to lose $10 billion dollars on its Alexa division this year. That’s billion… with a “B.”
Amazon is big, but the loss of that kind of money still hurts. According to Macrotrends, “Amazon net income for the twelve months ending September 30, 2022 was $11.323 billion.” So, on paper at least, Alexa losses this year will almost equal Amazon’s profit. What do they hope to gain from Alexa in the future that makes it worth that level of loss today?
Alexa is a cloud-based personal assistant. The original idea was that it would build brand loyalty to Amazon by giving people easy access to things like the weather or favorite music. Planners had also hoped to make it easier for people to order products from Amazon. That part hasn’t worked too well. It turns out that people want to see products (or at least pictures of those products) before they buy them.
But Alexa is more than an assistant. It is also a massive data vacuum cleaner. It sucks up information about you at unprecedented levels. By default, the microphones on Alexa devices are always on. They are required to be on so that Alexa can know when you are addressing it, and then follow your instructions. Amazon says that Alexa only listens for key words that “wake up” the device. But that’s something we just have to take their word for.
(Excerpt) Read more at harbingersdaily.com ...
[[16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?]]
Trying to imagine the fear that woudl drive people into the mountains to hide- We live such comfortable lives right now- but it’s all gonna come to a screeching end for those who rejected the Savior- not many will be able to handle it-
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