Over the past few years, smart assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Home gained popularity. Many customers are falling for all the convenient features that are offered by these machines. Nowadays many people use it for basic features, like setting an alarm, playing some music, asking for live traffic information, or getting a news update when they get ready in the morning.
But the possibilities that these assistants have to offer, in combination with smart-home devices are endless. Imagine inviting friends over for dinner, but due to a traffic jam you are a little late yourself. Your smart home assistant can recognize your friends, opens the door for them, play some music from their favorite Spotify list and even prepare them a caramel flavored coffee with some extra milk. This might sound very futuristic, but it is possible.
However, with the rising popularity of smart home assistants, many people are worried about their privacy. Companies like Amazon collect the data that you share with Alexa as you talk to her. Following Amazon they only listen and store you date once you triggered Alexa by addressing her. It is also possible to delete your recordings. However, not everybody trusts the tech giant and there are examples in which Alexa failed to cover her ears and even shared recordings with others.
It is understandable that many people are concerned about their privacy and therefore refuse to let Alexa in their homes. However, the phone that everybody is carrying with them nowadays is not the most reliable machine either. Phones have far more sensors than speakers like GPS and accelerometers that can reveal the movements of your phone. Furthermore, spy agencies apparently have the possibility to activate the microphone whenever they want.
Is it fair that we are so concerned about smart home assistants like Alexa?. Of course violating privacy rights is wrong, but are we blaming the right devices here? I am probably not the only one who feels that Siri is constantly listening to me.
Rozita, D., 2020. The Dark Side Of Alexa, Siri And Other Personal Digital Assistants. [online] The Conversation. Available at: [Accessed 9 October 2020].
The Economist. 2020. How Creepy Is Your Smart Speaker?. [online] Available at: [Accessed 8 October 2020].
Hi Tim, a thought-provoking topic you have chosen! I am one of the guilty people that have fallen in love with all the beneficial features of my Google Home. I use it daily to listen to the news, set alarm clocks, turn lights on and off, etc. I have indeed considered the dangers of smart assistants, especially if they can record inappropriate conversations that cannot be shared with others. Lately I have noticed that they are activating themselves without my calling out to them.
But the point you are addressing that smartphones can be just as dangerous is certainly true, and something I didn’t fully consider. Like many others, I have been used to carrying and using a smartphone at any time of the day for ages. Therefore, I appreciate it that you point this out while holding a critical mirror in front of your audience. Although smart assistants are still relatively new inventions, we should not only accuse them of the ability to eavesdrop, but also other equipment such as the smartphone that have become unthinkable in our lives.
Hi there!
Interesting post you made on Alexa. In my opinion Amazon is definitely listening. Recently, Amazon acknowledged that employees of the firm are listening to what they called ‘an extremely small number of interactions from a random set of customers’. As this is very unambiguous at start, Amazon stated that it does it in order to improve on the accuracy of Alexa’s response quality. I think that the idea of other people listening to what is talked about in your living room is not very satisfactory. Also, a former employee of Cambridge Analytica, who worked on president Trump’s 2016 campaign and misused Facebook data to influence the elections has stated that Amazon is using Alexa to obtain more and more consumer information concerning its customers on any potential front.