Apple, Google and Amazon may be listening to you without your knowledge
The voice technology is one of the biggest bets in the tech industry.
Apple, Google and Amazon each have their own voice-activated virtual assistants (Siri, Assistant, and Alexa, respectively) that use artificial intelligence to respond to your requests.
However, the price to be paid is steep: potentially, the privacy of your conversations.
This week, The Guardian revealed that Apple had been contracting agencies to listen to Siri user recordings.
The intention, according to the company, was to improve the service by listening to and identifying potential errors made by the assistant.
However, users had no idea they were being listened to — let alone by other human beings — which exposed conversations between doctors and patients and even suspicious negotiations.
In response to the controversy, Apple suspended the listening of recordings.
A similar case occurred with Google, which began recording user interactions after they said "Ok, Google" and invoked the Assistant.
However, the company stated that it preserves user identity and has safeguards in place to prevent false triggers — and to avoid recording what it should not.
Google was banned from listening to voice recordings in the European Union for three months, while Germany launched an investigation into the matter.
The same story repeats itself with Amazon, which was reprimanded for the same reason and offers the same justification: improving the assistant's learning.
Although the early adoption of voice technology has been surrounded by controversy, the potential of this technology is undeniable.
Walmart and Google have already partnered so that one day you may be able to shop using voice commands; Amazon wants you to adjust your car's air conditioning temperature (and other commands) simply by speaking, and even to use the virtual assistant as a security resource for homes.
The demand is real and significant: Amazon sold 1 million car-specific assistants before the product was even officially launched.
Alexa-enabled devices were also the company's best-selling products during the holiday shopping season at the end of last year.
According to Google, 72 percent of people who own a voice-activated assistant say the device has already become part of their daily routine.
What about you — can you imagine a future where we use voice commands in our daily lives? And how do we overcome the privacy issue?
Someone is watching you right now
As you read this sentence, all activity performed on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) is being monitored.
At this very moment, you may be handing over to a stranger information such as:
— Links to pages you have clicked;
— Passwords you have used;
— Phone numbers from your contacts;
— Your address and current location;
— The browser and operating system you use;
— Your browsing history.
– There is even talk of surveillance through a laptop's camera.
Why do you think Zuckerberg covered the camera on his laptop?
But don't panic. You have not been hacked.
In fact, unlike the controversies surrounding Google and Facebook for eavesdropping on their users' conversations…
In this case, there was no intrusion of any kind. All of this information was shared with your consent.
However, both situations occur for the same reason…
The search for fuel.
And no, we are not talking about the fuel you put in your car…
But rather the fuel that powers the greatest technology ever developed by humanity.
At some level, this technology is present in other complex technologies such as Machine Learning, Big Data, Internet of Things, Virtual Reality, 3D Printers, Smart Cities, and many others.
Do you know how?
By making them think.
We have finally entered the era in which machines think.
And if you still do not know at what point you gave them permission to monitor you, let us refresh your memory…
Have you ever seen a message like this somewhere?
“Cookies allow us to provide our services. By using them, you accept our use of cookies“.
The websites that send you this message (almost all of them nowadays) then give you two options…
“Accept” or “More information“.
In our rush to access the content, we click accept.
But those cookies are just the tip of a massive iceberg.
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is practically everywhere.
In some places, it operates in a more simplified form. In others, it works in an extremely complex way, as is the case with autonomous vehicles.
But to function correctly, it needs data… Hence, the importance of cookies.
Essentially, the purpose of A.I. is to capture data and transform it into information.
This information, when fed into a system, triggers a programmed response.
This is why data serves as fuel for A.I., which is indispensable for the correct functioning of any other complex technology — at least when it comes to data processing.
And it is this same processing that leads companies to invest millions in accessing your data right now…
Because, as the internet is the primary point of contact between companies and consumers, and unlike TV, it is far easier to lose interest in what you are viewing and navigate to another page…
Companies are focused on understanding who you are and delivering the most relevant content or offers to you.
In other words, they want to optimize processes by delivering to you only what aligns with your interests.
In Brazil today, among companies that use A.I. in their processes, significant improvements have already been observed:
60 percent improvement in customer acquisition, satisfaction, and retention;
— 60 percent improvement in resource utilization;
— 60 percent improvement in product quality;
— 67 percent increase in innovation;
— 65 percent increase in the speed of data insight extraction.
That is why they cannot resist taking a little listen and a little peek at you.
Source: Startse