Shocking: Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa

[M76]

Everyone has a unique voice and gathering data from your vast collection of customers is by far more effective than hiring people.

Exactly, it's a shortcut. Of course it's more effective to use your customers private conversations as test data. Being more effective doesn't justify it. Should car manufacturers test their new self driving cars in live traffic with real customers? I mean it's more effective than using your own test drivers and private course, so why not?

Additionally, steps are taken to conceal the identity of the individuals .

I don't want my private conversations recorded or stored anywhere, even without a name attached to it. And I don't think any person would want to unless they opted in prior to recording it!

so it's no different than hearing someone talking anywhere in a crowd or otherwise

So crowds of strangers are common in your home?

No one's privacy is broken. No one. People just want to gather pitch forks for anything and everything these days.

Just wow. You can say that with a straight face? Employees of a giant corporation listening to what people say in their homes is not a breach of privacy? Damn man, I have no words. They might as well install cameras too, because apparently if there is no name to it, then it's free for all.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Exactly, it's a shortcut. Of course it's more effective to use your customers private conversations as test data. Being more effective doesn't justify it. Should car manufacturers test their new self driving cars in live traffic with real customers? I mean it's more effective than using your own test drivers and private course, so why not?

Apples to oranges comparison. Life or death can happen if a self driving car doesn't drive correctly. Someone recording your interaction with Alexa isn't going to kill anyone.

I don't want my private conversations recorded or stored anywhere, even without a name attached to it. And I don't think any person would want to unless they opted in prior to recording it!

I am pretty sure none of the conversations you have with Alexa are "private" but rather asking questions, seeing what kind of responses she gives you, ordering items and the like. It's not ease dropping on your conversations and recording them.

So crowds of strangers are common in your home?

Your home privacy is not invaded. It's only recording the interactions you have with Alexa and I'd even venture to say it only records the data where Alexa isn't sure how to respond or doesn't understand what you are asking or telling it.

Just wow. You can say that with a straight face? Employees of a giant corporation listening to what people say in their homes is not a breach of privacy? Damn man, I have no words. They might as well install cameras too, because apparently if there is no name to it, then it's free for all.

You're taking an idea and running with it, pitch fork and all. NO ONE IS LISTENING to what you are saying in the privacy of your own home UNLESS you alert Alexa you are talking to her which is normally by calling her name "Alexa" so as long as "Alexa" doesn't come up in your super secret, private conversations, no one knows. Still.

 

[Zareek]

This what I find most disturbing. It is not the fact you have something to hide. That has nothing to do with it. The fact is you have RIGHTS against illegal search and seizure and illegal surveillance.
This idea that if you are against surveillance, you are hiding something thus possible criminal actions or intent is ridiculous.

Also the idea we have "nothing to hide" is also ridiculous. We ALL hold things as very personal we don't want everyone's eyes on. How would you feel if naked pix of you were circulated among your coworkers. Jokes aside; this is a blow to your personal privacy.

Wow, that would be awkward. I would spend all day beating the women at work off me... No but really, I respect your right to privacy in anyway you see fit. I personally don't care if people are listening to my day to day BS. I'm sure there is some sort of scenario that I wouldn't want someone else listening in on, I just can't think of one at the moment.

 

[eclypse]

Makes me wana power up the Amazon dot and say alexa.... "insert loud Farrrrtt!!" Who farted?

Alexa. Who farts the most?

 

[pillagenburn]

Since so many devices seem to be both video and audio recording everything that they "see and hear" and beaming these sounds and images back to a centralized corporate overlord - maybe it would be a good idea to feed devices like Alexa a steady diet of classics such as the BME Pain Olympics?

At least then you'd be able to say that the company that is spying on you didn't get your personal information for "free" .... there was a cost to it, increased healthcare costs when their employees must engage in weekly psychological counseling for PTSD or otherwise quit en masse.

 

[dgz]

just a quick update https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...eeps-your-alexa-recordings-basically-forever/

Keep buying that shit, though

 

[Krenum]

Until Alexa fixes me a sandwich or does my laundry I'm not buying one.

 

[HAL_404]

"They said they only listened to a small sample!" ...

Keep buying that shit, though

it's the drug of choice.

most people in the world can at least sense that something is very wrong with the things humans are beginning to do in the open these days and yet, most people don't think it includes them - just the other guys/gals

 

[MMitch]

"They said they only listened to a small sample!" ...

Well there's only so much one person can listen in one shift at Amazon lol and yeah as pointed above, it's currently always recording and going thru hops of country to make sure it's stored in one that doesn't care, listened in another one that care even less then sold to marketing firms and you get the drill.
People thinking it's not happening should read the EULA and tell me where it would prevent this from happening...

 

[gtrguy]

Apples to oranges comparison. Life or death can happen if a self driving car doesn't drive correctly. Someone recording your interaction with Alexa isn't going to kill anyone.



I am pretty sure none of the conversations you have with Alexa are "private" but rather asking questions, seeing what kind of responses she gives you, ordering items and the like. It's not ease dropping on your conversations and recording them.



Your home privacy is not invaded. It's only recording the interactions you have with Alexa and I'd even venture to say it only records the data where Alexa isn't sure how to respond or doesn't understand what you are asking or telling it.



You're taking an idea and running with it, pitch fork and all. NO ONE IS LISTENING to what you are saying in the privacy of your own home UNLESS you alert Alexa you are talking to her which is normally by calling her name "Alexa" so as long as "Alexa" doesn't come up in your super secret, private conversations, no one knows. Still.

Seems like you are making a lot of assumptions here, or is your opinion based on information available somewhere?

 

[dgz]

"They said they only listened to a small sample!" ...



it's the drug of choice.

most people in the world can at least sense that something is very wrong with the things humans are beginning to do in the open these days and yet, most people don't think it includes them - just the other guys/gals

The vast majority of the people seem to assume they're simply not important enough to warrant daily meetings about them. Yep, that's how most regular people imagine the spying. Others just don't understand tech and just don't think it's possible to have all that data saved. Technology is magic to most people. It's the truth :/

 

[westrock2000]

The root of this is simpler than expected. There is no such thing as artificial intelligence. It is all pre-programmed pattern recognition. If any computer is recognizing what your are doing, it is because a human at some point told it how to recognize that pattern.

No computer is intelligent. THATS the scam.

Heres a simple test. Initiate your voice recognition of choice and say "blurblurblur <city you are in> blurblurblur weather". What does Siri/Alexa/Google say in response? It says what it says because it recognized key words. An intelligent thing would know that there is no answer to what you actually said. Its all pre-programmed bullshit. And the pre-programmed is why they have to listen to you.

 

[Aix.]

I put a bunch of Sonos speakers in my home, but I opted for all the older "dumb" versions as I didn't feel like miking up my whole house and paying extra for the privilege. I don't see the need for these devices or particularly like a corporation having all sort of audio recordings from my home...but then, I also walk around with a phone all day so how serious can I be?