Nikki Sonneveld

No ratings yet.

The Google Home, a smart speaker, was first released in November 2016. This month, the internet giant presented its younger brother: the Google Home Mini.

Shaped like a pebble, this innocent looking gadget listens to your voice commands and acts as a personal assistant through Google’s Assistant services. The home assistant’s listening abilities are activated by calling out a so-called hotword; ‘OK Google’. So far so good, right?

However, in the beginning of this month, founder of the Android Police, Artem Russakovskii , found out something very fishy. The device, which he had received before its official launch, kept turning on and off continuously, without anyone using the hotword. Later, the device did the same when it was placed close to a TV that was turned on. Having just found out about the following feature, Artem went to check Google’s My Activity portal, which has an assistant-specific section. On this page, he found thousands of the device’s recordings, including time stamp and even a ‘play’ button. Although Google discloses that the recordings made my smart speakers are sometimes stored, something was definitely wrong here.

So how did Google respond to this situation?
Luckily they responded swiftly, by stating there was a glitch in the software of the touch panel on the device. Unable to solve the issue, Google then sent out a software update disabling the features of the touch panel completely (Russakovskii, 2017).

Although a Google spokesperson said that ‘they take user privacy and product quality concerns very seriously’ this does make you think about the potential power Google has over its customers (Tung, 2017). Google’s reaction may seem adequate, but is it also genuine?

So this incident happened recently, but did such a violation of privacy happen before, or could it even be happening at this very moment? Should we really be letting devices into our homes which could potentially be listening to us 24/7? And when adding on top all the cameras on our laptops, tablets and phones; are we maybe making it a bit too easy for the Googles and Facebooks of this world?

What is your stance?

by Nikki Sonneveld (382290)

References:
Russakovskii, A. (2017, October 11). Google is permanently nerfing all Home Minis because mine spied on everything I said 24/7 [Update x2]. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/10/10/google-nerfing-home-minis-mine-spied-everything-said-247/

Tung, L. (2017, October 12). Google ditches Home Mini’s top-touch panel feature after spying blunder. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-ditches-home-minis-top-touch-panel-feature-after-spying-blunder/

5/5 (3)

During Adobe’s Sneak Peeks event last November, a new product was announced, named Voco. Said to be the ‘Photoshop of voice’ the program was demonstrated by an Adobe engineer and Jordan Peele, from comedic duo Key and Peele.

The engineer used a sample from Key’s voice and began manipulating it enthusiastically. What started off with Key saying ‘I kissed my dogs and my wife’ was changed several times. The various versions of Key’s words were met with laughter from the audience, but the final version; ‘I kissed Jordan three times’ did seem to make Peele somewhat uncomfortable.

The above situation seems innocent; some might even find it funny.
But will Voco bring us any good?

Voice manipulation is not a novelty, especially not when used to serve a comedic purpose. Among examples are the infamous videos of President Obama singing to pop songs during his speeches.

But what if our goal isn’t laughter and this tool falls in the wrong hands. What if Voco is used to make Donald Trump say he will fire missiles towards North Korea? In this day of age, where fake news is daily news and the POTUS thinks out loud 140 characters at a time, how will we tell what is real and what is not?

Technological disruptions are usually a driving force for progression and improvement, but the time has to be right for it. Governments and regulatory bodies across the world are still struggling to regulate past disruptive forces, such as Facebook and Uber. So how will this ‘Photoshop for voice’ be regulated?

Maybe 2017 isn’t the right time for Adobe Voco. Maybe the right time will never come. Maybe it is time to change our naïve view on disruptive technologies and ask ourselves if they are really making our world a better place.

References:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-15/tech-industry-disruption-ideas-that-shouldnt-see-light-of-day/8948220
https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/07/disruptive-innovation

by Nikki Sonneveld (382290)

Google Home or Google Spy?

14

Please rate this

Adobe Voco: Industry Disruption or World Destruction?

1

Please rate this