Has your "smart assistant" at home ever said anything creepy?
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Nope. But Alexa lies a lot.
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I was just sitting in my room, minding my own business, and then out of the blue my smart speaker says “Do you want to play a game?”
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Not having one, anything one said in my home would be creepy.
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No, nothing creepy. But it does like to react to things I’m watching on my computer or TV when it thinks it hears its keyword prompt.
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The thought of voluntarily giving access to Amazon or Google, a microphone connected to the Internet in my house, is way too creepy for that to ever be possible…
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Tomorrow’s poll: Has your “dumb assistant” at home ever said anything creepy? Then, the forum will be filled with different interpretations of what a “dumb assistance” is.
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(Slight exaggeration) One time I was in my car and I was talking with my then Fiancée and somehow Siri picked up our conversation and replied:
“Sorry, I cannot help you with “Your Daddy Issues””
Like damn Siri.
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I turn off Alexa on the refrigerator because too many times the TV “summoned” her to say something
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Not so much creepy but it does speak without any prompts sometimes. Unless it’s responding to someone or something that I can’t hear.
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What’s the smart assistant?
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As an engineer working for a giant tech corporation, I approve this message.
I had Siri enabled for a few years. It was very convenient when driving. No more. There is no way I will allow a virtual assitant device in my house with its 24-7 hot mic listening. I have many smart devices in my home, but they are kept on a separate, isolated network and I will never knowingly place cameras or mics inside my home. Smart phones are the glaring exception. Ed Snowden talks about what can be done once a phone is exploited by a well-equipped agency: Pretty much exactly what you might think. Is it likely? Probably not, but you bet that many of your apps spy on you. Data brokers are part of a huge, lucrative industry. I’m strongly considering getting a GrapheneOS phone.
Tangentially related, when Facebook started catching on back in around 2004-2005ish, I was part of the demographic that adopted it enthusiastically. I decided to stay away from it back then, and I’m throughly convinced now that it was the right move. I highly recommend the book, “Careless People,” written by a very high level Facebook employee from the early days. Your eyes will be opened to the mindset of many Silicon Valley corporations and you will never see them the same way again. The higher-ups simply do not care about any boundaries or laws unless they affect the public optics or bottom line. This doesn’t necessarily apply to all big-tech corporations, but undoubtedly many of them.
Once Meta AI glasses (or whichever equivalent technology) catches on, we’ll have reached a point of no return. Facial recognition will be everywhere, unless someone legislates or enforces existing laws that prohibit recording of someone without their consent. It will be unbelievably useful tech, but at a great cost to humanity.
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