Alexa, don't repeat that...

[ATCclears]

from the WSJ CIO Journal:

Amazon Alexa-powered device shared user's conversation without permission. Confirming a report by a local television station in Seattle, Amazon.com Inc. said that one of its Echo home speakers mistakenly recorded a private conversation and sent it to a person in the owners' contact list, the WSJ's Laura Stevens reports. The company said that the Echo device misunderstood pieces of a conversation as commands, causing it to think it was being instructed to send the message.

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[Stomper]

Why anyone would put a central listening device in their home so outside "entities" can listen in is beyond me....

 

[etrain16]

I don't get why people will put stuff like this in their homes - or why they leave their phones open to voice commands at all times.

 

[RVTECH]

Saw this coming with these items early on.....

 

[No_Regerts]

Skynet...

 

[jbett98]

If you think about all the stupid inane drivel Skynet had to listen to 24/7, no wonder it decided to wipe out humans.

 

[Stomper]

If you think about all the stupid inane drivel Skynet had to listen to 24/7, no wonder it decided to wipe out humans.

I'm all for taking out 90% of the dopes running around ATM.....

 

[Stomper]

Hey Alexa, who likes bananas?

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

NEVER saw this coming


i turn the mic off on my iphone.

 

[No_Regerts]

I'm all for taking out 90% of the dopes running around ATM.....

ATM??? Azz To Mouth?

 

[DirectDrive]

"Alexa, would you like to go fishing ?"

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Why anyone would put a central listening device in their home so outside "entities" can listen in is beyond me....

They do it because they've spent years being told that the location/audio/video recording and transmitting device they carry around in their pocket is perfectly trustworthy and benign. When I mention this to people they usually give me a look that indicates they're surprised I'm not wearing a tinfoil hat. Not surprisingly, they're also completely oblivious to the applications on their phones that have "permissions" to use their location, camera and microphone at their discretion.

 

[Crazyeye24]

Voluntary surveillance!

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Voluntary surveillance!

I remember having more than one discussion "back in the day" where it was postulated that the surveillance society depicted in George Orwell's 1984 was a practical impossibility due to the enormous cost of all of the hardware and associated infrastructure that would be required to support it. I do believe those that postulated that have been soundly proven wrong.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

ATM??? Azz To Mouth?

lol

 

[RicInOR]

Some people were (are?) walking into homes, friends clearly, and asking Siri / Alexa to order stuff. Expensive, fun,
"Alexa, send my standard Pizza Hut order. "

And to mess with people: "Alexa, Have Pay Pal send my balance to Hillary Clinton"


Good times. Good Times.

 

[Mister Bisley]

Kids got skills

 

[kott0n]

So my wife discounted the concept of our devices listening to us and then something happened .

She has a iphone, 7 or 8 I forget, and she was talking with a friend and they said a phrase "Dilly Dilly" which is slang we use for a local ice cream treat the Dilly Bar. So her phone started showing ads based on those words even though she had never typed it on her phone.

She asked me how it could happen and she was finally ready to listnen.

Its in the agreements of our devices. I'm sorry but "turning the mic off" isn't a fix. I'm not saying I don't have a smart phone but I'm just fully aware of what info they get.

Most of my online presence isn't real and I would hope companies/sites would only comply with court orders if identity was ever sought.

 

[308]

Oh sorry folks...we will fix that bug. The bug being you all found out we were and are and will continue snooping your sphincter unawarez.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

So my wife discounted the concept of our devices listening to us and then something happened .

She has a iphone, 7 or 8 I forget, and she was talking with a friend and they said a phrase "Dilly Dilly" which is slang we use for a local ice cream treat the Dilly Bar. So her phone started showing ads based on those words even though she had never typed it on her phone.

She asked me how it could happen and she was finally ready to listnen.

Its in the agreements of our devices. I'm sorry but "turning the mic off" isn't a fix. I'm not saying I don't have a smart phone but I'm just fully aware of what info they get.

Most of my online presence isn't real and I would hope companies/sites would only comply with court orders if identity was ever sought.

I've heard numerous variations of that same scenario. I tested it once by opening Google on my phone and leaving it on the end table next to the couch. I was looking for information on the Volvo Xc90 as my wife expressed interest in getting one. I fired up the tv and started watching YouTube reviews for the Xc90. I hadn't used my phone for any research on it. The next day, I start seeing Volvo Xc90 ads on my phone.