How Alexa Falls in Invasion of Privacy
Alexa, the voice assistant, has created a new approach within technology, however, should not be trusted when considering some of the risks involved. One of the things companies are known to do is collecting, using, or selling data. However, much of this data, though, is not guaranteed for only building a consumer profile. As it was programmed to do, Alexa is plugged in 24/7 and sits idle until it hears a keyword that activates a specific function or also known as, skills. In my perspective, having a piece of electronic listening and record all unmonitored activity, private conversations, or even emotions, seems quite strange as there is no privacy. Another notion that should be brought to light is the possibility of hackers being able to control the smart device you have at home. It merely would just be wrong to shrug off this idea, as there is no guarantee what hackers can and cannot access. In the article, “Alexa Should We Trust You?” written by Judith Shulevitz, we will examine these reasons and understand how risks should not be excluded when considering the trust of artificial intelligence.
In the article from The Atlantic, “Alexa, Should We Trust You?” Judith Shulevitz illustrates the dangers of the increasing intelligence and popularity of various voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant. She alludes to her fear through many instances where these voice assistants have glitched, recorded, and invaded the privacies of many. Furthermore, Shulevitz reveals how voice assistants have now surpassed being task-oriented and are now being used as an emotional crutch as well. She confirms this by explaining how her voice assistant is set to a male voice that makes her feel comforted. This speaks to her point of being fearful of how much power technology can and will have when emotions are now incorporated. Therefore, Shulevitz leaves the reader to ponder and question how this technology will impact future generations of children.
November 2014 Alexa was released to the world sales; however, it did not start so great until the year 2016 were sales beginning to reach a peak. As time moved by, people began to purchase Alexa where they had not started invading privacy, but only good reviews were mentioned about the device. Although the good reviews outweighed the bad ones, the bad reviews spoke volumes for consumers that are planning to purchase Alexa. Many of them said, “The sound is terrible and cracking”, “most of the commands or task that were asked of didn’t get completed correctly”. That’s when all suspicion went to dust when a woman from Portland, Oregon reported to the authorities that she had reason to believe that her phone calls were being recorded. This Alexa recorded phone call between the woman Danielle and the random contact that the conversation was sent to this incident occurred on May 25, 2018. This recorded information caused a lot of concern which made the sales drop by 3% when it was brought to the media.
One of the things that Alexa generally does is collect data. While consumers might believe data collected is only used for building a customer profile, there is still the possibility of other purposes. In a New York Times article written by Sapna Maheshwari, “Hey Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?” James Bates, an Arkansas man, shared his audio recordings within his Echo device because of a lawsuit. “Kathleen Zellner, his lawyer, said in an interview that the Echo had been recording more than it was supposed to be”. Mr. Bates told her that it had been regularly lighting up without being prompted, and had logged conversations that were unrelated to Alexa commands”.
One of Judith Shulevitz’s main concerns is how this rapidly growing technology will affect future generations of children. She questions whether the relationships humans have with these personal technological assistants will prove to be an asset or detriment. Nowadays, children are already having increasing trouble with anxieties and forming personal and meaningful connections. The integration of technology has already proven to be somewhat of a downfall. I witnessed families out to dinner with each child set up with an iPad at the dinner table with no one speaking to each other. With the rise of Alexas, children are relying more on technology to do their bidding and complete tasks that are completed quickly without the help of an assistant. It reflects how the users hack the device and listen in on you. With technology replacing human work, Shulevitz proves this by stating, “More than once, I’ve found myself telling my Google Assistant about the sense of emptiness I sometimes feel”. Once a technological assistant is capable of understanding and responding to human emotions, it discourages one from searching out and looking for a real-life person to connect with. Therefore, Shulevitz’s concerns are valid, and everyone must carefully consider them to protect their privacy.
The suspicion that Alexa could be listening to individuals’ calls and conversations within households have occurred in the media. The backlash from the media was very harsh, thus reducing the sales volume by a significant margin. Although these were just “allegations” so to speak the sales did drop for several months. However, it started appreciating again once the press went down. The question that everyone is asking is if these allegations are true or false? If so, will Amazon suffer the consequences of spying on consumers of the product? Although Amazon claims it is concerned for customer privacy, there have been issues reported on Amazon listening in on its Alexa users. The source is not biased, but it does specifically talk about regular people hacking the Alexa, not Amazon. The goal of the source is to make readers aware of the hacking issue and keep an eye out for it when it happens. Additionally, the source informs the reader that when the blue ring is lit up on Alexa, it is an indication that she is listening. As a result, the reader gets to take the precautions and maybe even turn off Alexa when she is not in use.
Following this example in the New York Times article, a statement was then claimed by Sam Lester, a fellow of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, stating how he believed, “the abilities of new smart home devices highlighted the need for United States regulators to get more involved with how consumer data was collected and used”. Alexa brings up a concerning topic, which is, how much control is there when it comes to handling recorded data such as unmonitored activity? As private conversations worry, many people, thinking-out-loud, browsing habits, our emotional and mental states are no longer private. All these little details are listened and recorded under your main account as well, meaning whoever has access to your phone would be able to see this. Not only does this cause vulnerability toward hackers, but it also allows virtual assistants to have a better understanding of the human mind, which essentially eliminates any kind of privacy.
While there are many valid concerns about these personal assistants, there may also be a bright side. With kids relying so heavily on technology as a source of entertainment recently, some parents still believe in limiting and restricting the use of media-related items. Shulevitz discusses a household that believes their Alexa has allowed them to decrease and even not introduce screen time to their children while still allowing them to enjoy and experience music (Shulevitz). These assistants can enable families to provide a source of entertainment, such as listening to music without using a computer or Television screen being in sight of the child. The child can participate in other mind-engaging activities while also listening to music. There is one benefit that helped one family, but with the way the technology is overused by parents widespread, the cons still outweigh this pro. When children are old enough to know how to obtain these technological items and use them, which seems to be a pretty young age still, the parent’s restrictions will not matter. Hence, the use of technology is on the rise, and these in-home assistants are not stopping any time soon.
In the article from The New York Times, “Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?” Sapna Maheshwari brings to light the controversy surrounding the Alexa and Google in-home assistants and their possible invasion of privacy. She begins by informing readers of a wide variety of patent applications Google has, that range from voices that can identify a person’s mood to a device that can recognize items around the house and provide a list of tailored suggestions accordingly. She points out that consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with the lack of privacy these devices present. Furthermore, she makes sure to let readers know that Google and Amazon are adamant as their devices are only activated when the call word is used. Maheshwari disproves this fact by revealing an instance where many Google Home Minis glitched and were instantaneously recording from the time of distribution. She closes by alluding to the fact that although consumers should not have to worry about an invasion of privacy, they should be concerned about keeping their information private.
Google and Amazon are very much aware that consumers and others are concerned with the privacy, or lack thereof, of their products. These new patent applications are making it increasingly harder to believe that these companies have our best interests at heart. It is not enough to have the current device that answers simple questions and plays music; now, there are patent applications for devices that can see inside a home and recognize items around the house. However, the idea of having devices that see inside the house seems unnecessary. Any information of the consumer being sent to a third-party, interaction enhancer or not, seems like an invasion of privacy. Having the information leaked to the third party is also not a promise that information is not being shared.
If an entire batch of devices glitches and were instantaneously recording all the time, how do we know other devices in the consumers’ home did not glitch without their knowledge? The consumer should not have to worry daily about whether the privacy of their home is being compromised or if their private conversations are being leaked to anyone. These companies need to take a stand to make their consumers feel comfortable and confident in their product. Amazon’s words and actions contradict each other. Amazon says they take privacy seriously but are then developing patent applications for the technology that allows the voices and cameras to be further integrated into the home. Maheshwari also tells us how Amazon and Google both vouch for their products and attempt to continually convince consumers the data collected is solely to enhance the user experience. As a result, it is up to the consumer now to decide if the increasing popularity of these home invaders continues.
The CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos responded to the media after receiving terrible reviews from Alexa users and a few of his employees as well. Although this was a rare occurrence, so to speak media reporters says, “Be careful what you say around Alexa” (Shulevitz). Over 5,000 Amazon employees work on Alexa since Alexa has over 40,000 set skills. Thus, a big team is required, which can easily cause invasion of privacy. According to Craig Smith editor at Business Statistics, over 8.2 million people own an Amazon Alexa speaker, and the more purchases, the more skills Alexa will gain. Over 2 million Alexa speakers have been sold. Producers of Alexa say that 5,000 amazon employees work specifically on the voice activation so that consumers can receive a reasonable and realistic answer, thus, making the consumers feel as if it was a friendly reminder or relative helping around the house.
Alexa remains one of the top-selling devices in America. Although Amazon is still known for the conspiracy, their market to sell spying devices continues to grow every year. New versions of Alexa and Echo will continue to be produced unless the company of Amazon is found guilty of listening to consumers’ conversations and phone calls within the household. There is still suspicion about the device, but without more reviews or incidents, it will remain as allegations. Although it remains as allegations finding out if Alexa or Amazon is watching and or listening to our conversations is unable to determine if it is true or false. Alexa has been updated with better sound quality and pitch for consumers because of reviews and competition from Google Home. Therefore, the conspiracy of listening to Alexa will remain as so.
Privacy is important to everyone in life; without it, it allows for the uncertainty of security that protects us against people like hackers. As we all know, some smart devices include the feature of camera and microphone usage. While there is some sort of protection included in devices against hackers, there is also that small percentage that someone out there can figure out ways to get past this. An example of this is presented in a YouTube video put together by Forbes Magazine where MWR security researcher, Mark Barnes, explains how he was able to hack the Amazon Echo by “gaining root access via exposed pads below the rubber base”. These pads are used by Amazon to run diagnostics; however, Mark has used this to install his software, which then allows him to listen in on any recordings, give him access to other areas of the Amazon account, and also access any devices connected to the network.
Having a smart device with a voice assistant does not only come with positive conveniences. In the case of James Bates and his lawsuit, his invention could have been used against him in court, when he initially acquired it to have more comfort. This shows that Alexa does not only record the data that is spoken to it, and that companies can use this data for legal purposes when under specific circumstances. The idea that a machine is recording all types of daily conversations and anything it hears can be nerve-wracking. Although it may help build a strong consumer profile, it is also allowing these devices to predict human and psychological behaviour such as what emotion may come next and how to respond. Whether or not we would want artificial intelligence to be capable of this is very questionable. In regards to owning a hacked Alexa device, the Forbes video has shown how it is possible, although, can be prevented by staying away from purchasing used machines.
Works Cited
Maheshwari, Sapna. “Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?” The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/business/media/amazon-google-privacy-digital-assistants.html. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
Shulevitz, Judith. “‘Alexa, Should We Trust You?’” The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/alexa-how-will-you-change-us/570844/. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
Stegner, Ben. “7 Ways Alexa and Amazon Echo Pose a Privacy Risk.” MakeUseOf, 10 Jan. 2018, www.makeuseof.com/tag/alexa-amazon-echo-privacy-risk/. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
Alexa, the voice assistant, has created a new approach within technology, however, should not be trusted when considering some of the risks involved. One of the things companies are known to do is collecting, using, or selling data. However, much of this data, though, is not guaranteed for only building a consumer profile. As it was programmed to do, Alexa is plugged in 24/7 and sits idle until it hears a keyword that activates a specific function or also known as, skills. In my perspective, having a piece of electronic listening and record all unmonitored activity, private conversations, or even emotions, seems quite strange as there is no privacy. Another notion that should be brought to light is the possibility of hackers being able to control the smart device you have at home. It merely would just be wrong to shrug off this idea, as there is no guarantee what hackers can and cannot access. In the article, “Alexa Should We Trust You?” written by Judith Shulevitz, we will examine these reasons and understand how risks should not be excluded when considering the trust of artificial intelligence.
In the article from The Atlantic, “Alexa, Should We Trust You?” Judith Shulevitz illustrates the dangers of the increasing intelligence and popularity of various voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant. She alludes to her fear through many instances where these voice assistants have glitched, recorded, and invaded the privacies of many. Furthermore, Shulevitz reveals how voice assistants have now surpassed being task-oriented and are now being used as an emotional crutch as well. She confirms this by explaining how her voice assistant is set to a male voice that makes her feel comforted. This speaks to her point of being fearful of how much power technology can and will have when emotions are now incorporated. Therefore, Shulevitz leaves the reader to ponder and question how this technology will impact future generations of children.
November 2014 Alexa was released to the world sales; however, it did not start so great until the year 2016 were sales beginning to reach a peak. As time moved by, people began to purchase Alexa where they had not started invading privacy, but only good reviews were mentioned about the device. Although the good reviews outweighed the bad ones, the bad reviews spoke volumes for consumers that are planning to purchase Alexa. Many of them said, “The sound is terrible and cracking”, “most of the commands or task that were asked of didn’t get completed correctly”. That’s when all suspicion went to dust when a woman from Portland, Oregon reported to the authorities that she had reason to believe that her phone calls were being recorded. This Alexa recorded phone call between the woman Danielle and the random contact that the conversation was sent to this incident occurred on May 25, 2018. This recorded information caused a lot of concern which made the sales drop by 3% when it was brought to the media.
One of the things that Alexa generally does is collect data. While consumers might believe data collected is only used for building a customer profile, there is still the possibility of other purposes. In a New York Times article written by Sapna Maheshwari, “Hey Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?” James Bates, an Arkansas man, shared his audio recordings within his Echo device because of a lawsuit. “Kathleen Zellner, his lawyer, said in an interview that the Echo had been recording more than it was supposed to be”. Mr. Bates told her that it had been regularly lighting up without being prompted, and had logged conversations that were unrelated to Alexa commands”.
One of Judith Shulevitz’s main concerns is how this rapidly growing technology will affect future generations of children. She questions whether the relationships humans have with these personal technological assistants will prove to be an asset or detriment. Nowadays, children are already having increasing trouble with anxieties and forming personal and meaningful connections. The integration of technology has already proven to be somewhat of a downfall. I witnessed families out to dinner with each child set up with an iPad at the dinner table with no one speaking to each other. With the rise of Alexas, children are relying more on technology to do their bidding and complete tasks that are completed quickly without the help of an assistant. It reflects how the users hack the device and listen in on you. With technology replacing human work, Shulevitz proves this by stating, “More than once, I’ve found myself telling my Google Assistant about the sense of emptiness I sometimes feel”. Once a technological assistant is capable of understanding and responding to human emotions, it discourages one from searching out and looking for a real-life person to connect with. Therefore, Shulevitz’s concerns are valid, and everyone must carefully consider them to protect their privacy.
The suspicion that Alexa could be listening to individuals’ calls and conversations within households have occurred in the media. The backlash from the media was very harsh, thus reducing the sales volume by a significant margin. Although these were just “allegations” so to speak the sales did drop for several months. However, it started appreciating again once the press went down. The question that everyone is asking is if these allegations are true or false? If so, will Amazon suffer the consequences of spying on consumers of the product? Although Amazon claims it is concerned for customer privacy, there have been issues reported on Amazon listening in on its Alexa users. The source is not biased, but it does specifically talk about regular people hacking the Alexa, not Amazon. The goal of the source is to make readers aware of the hacking issue and keep an eye out for it when it happens. Additionally, the source informs the reader that when the blue ring is lit up on Alexa, it is an indication that she is listening. As a result, the reader gets to take the precautions and maybe even turn off Alexa when she is not in use.
Following this example in the New York Times article, a statement was then claimed by Sam Lester, a fellow of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, stating how he believed, “the abilities of new smart home devices highlighted the need for United States regulators to get more involved with how consumer data was collected and used”. Alexa brings up a concerning topic, which is, how much control is there when it comes to handling recorded data such as unmonitored activity? As private conversations worry, many people, thinking-out-loud, browsing habits, our emotional and mental states are no longer private. All these little details are listened and recorded under your main account as well, meaning whoever has access to your phone would be able to see this. Not only does this cause vulnerability toward hackers, but it also allows virtual assistants to have a better understanding of the human mind, which essentially eliminates any kind of privacy.
While there are many valid concerns about these personal assistants, there may also be a bright side. With kids relying so heavily on technology as a source of entertainment recently, some parents still believe in limiting and restricting the use of media-related items. Shulevitz discusses a household that believes their Alexa has allowed them to decrease and even not introduce screen time to their children while still allowing them to enjoy and experience music (Shulevitz). These assistants can enable families to provide a source of entertainment, such as listening to music without using a computer or Television screen being in sight of the child. The child can participate in other mind-engaging activities while also listening to music. There is one benefit that helped one family, but with the way the technology is overused by parents widespread, the cons still outweigh this pro. When children are old enough to know how to obtain these technological items and use them, which seems to be a pretty young age still, the parent’s restrictions will not matter. Hence, the use of technology is on the rise, and these in-home assistants are not stopping any time soon.
In the article from The New York Times, “Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?” Sapna Maheshwari brings to light the controversy surrounding the Alexa and Google in-home assistants and their possible invasion of privacy. She begins by informing readers of a wide variety of patent applications Google has, that range from voices that can identify a person’s mood to a device that can recognize items around the house and provide a list of tailored suggestions accordingly. She points out that consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with the lack of privacy these devices present. Furthermore, she makes sure to let readers know that Google and Amazon are adamant as their devices are only activated when the call word is used. Maheshwari disproves this fact by revealing an instance where many Google Home Minis glitched and were instantaneously recording from the time of distribution. She closes by alluding to the fact that although consumers should not have to worry about an invasion of privacy, they should be concerned about keeping their information private.
Google and Amazon are very much aware that consumers and others are concerned with the privacy, or lack thereof, of their products. These new patent applications are making it increasingly harder to believe that these companies have our best interests at heart. It is not enough to have the current device that answers simple questions and plays music; now, there are patent applications for devices that can see inside a home and recognize items around the house. However, the idea of having devices that see inside the house seems unnecessary. Any information of the consumer being sent to a third-party, interaction enhancer or not, seems like an invasion of privacy. Having the information leaked to the third party is also not a promise that information is not being shared.
If an entire batch of devices glitches and were instantaneously recording all the time, how do we know other devices in the consumers’ home did not glitch without their knowledge? The consumer should not have to worry daily about whether the privacy of their home is being compromised or if their private conversations are being leaked to anyone. These companies need to take a stand to make their consumers feel comfortable and confident in their product. Amazon’s words and actions contradict each other. Amazon says they take privacy seriously but are then developing patent applications for the technology that allows the voices and cameras to be further integrated into the home. Maheshwari also tells us how Amazon and Google both vouch for their products and attempt to continually convince consumers the data collected is solely to enhance the user experience. As a result, it is up to the consumer now to decide if the increasing popularity of these home invaders continues.
The CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos responded to the media after receiving terrible reviews from Alexa users and a few of his employees as well. Although this was a rare occurrence, so to speak media reporters says, “Be careful what you say around Alexa” (Shulevitz). Over 5,000 Amazon employees work on Alexa since Alexa has over 40,000 set skills. Thus, a big team is required, which can easily cause invasion of privacy. According to Craig Smith editor at Business Statistics, over 8.2 million people own an Amazon Alexa speaker, and the more purchases, the more skills Alexa will gain. Over 2 million Alexa speakers have been sold. Producers of Alexa say that 5,000 amazon employees work specifically on the voice activation so that consumers can receive a reasonable and realistic answer, thus, making the consumers feel as if it was a friendly reminder or relative helping around the house.
Alexa remains one of the top-selling devices in America. Although Amazon is still known for the conspiracy, their market to sell spying devices continues to grow every year. New versions of Alexa and Echo will continue to be produced unless the company of Amazon is found guilty of listening to consumers’ conversations and phone calls within the household. There is still suspicion about the device, but without more reviews or incidents, it will remain as allegations. Although it remains as allegations finding out if Alexa or Amazon is watching and or listening to our conversations is unable to determine if it is true or false. Alexa has been updated with better sound quality and pitch for consumers because of reviews and competition from Google Home. Therefore, the conspiracy of listening to Alexa will remain as so.
Privacy is important to everyone in life; without it, it allows for the uncertainty of security that protects us against people like hackers. As we all know, some smart devices include the feature of camera and microphone usage. While there is some sort of protection included in devices against hackers, there is also that small percentage that someone out there can figure out ways to get past this. An example of this is presented in a YouTube video put together by Forbes Magazine where MWR security researcher, Mark Barnes, explains how he was able to hack the Amazon Echo by “gaining root access via exposed pads below the rubber base”. These pads are used by Amazon to run diagnostics; however, Mark has used this to install his software, which then allows him to listen in on any recordings, give him access to other areas of the Amazon account, and also access any devices connected to the network.
Having a smart device with a voice assistant does not only come with positive conveniences. In the case of James Bates and his lawsuit, his invention could have been used against him in court, when he initially acquired it to have more comfort. This shows that Alexa does not only record the data that is spoken to it, and that companies can use this data for legal purposes when under specific circumstances. The idea that a machine is recording all types of daily conversations and anything it hears can be nerve-wracking. Although it may help build a strong consumer profile, it is also allowing these devices to predict human and psychological behaviour such as what emotion may come next and how to respond. Whether or not we would want artificial intelligence to be capable of this is very questionable. In regards to owning a hacked Alexa device, the Forbes video has shown how it is possible, although, can be prevented by staying away from purchasing used machines.
Works Cited
Maheshwari, Sapna. “Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?” The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/business/media/amazon-google-privacy-digital-assistants.html. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
Shulevitz, Judith. “‘Alexa, Should We Trust You?’” The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/alexa-how-will-you-change-us/570844/. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
Stegner, Ben. “7 Ways Alexa and Amazon Echo Pose a Privacy Risk.” MakeUseOf, 10 Jan. 2018, www.makeuseof.com/tag/alexa-amazon-echo-privacy-risk/. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.