Although you might think that Star Trek’s voice control might be futuristic, it is actually more realistic than ever! After the smartphone, tablet and wearables, it is now time for a new kid on the block; the smart speaker. Tech companies are embracing this new trend whereby Amazon introduced its Echo in 2014, followed by Google’s Home in 2016. Recently, Apple announced to compete in the smart speaker battle by bringing its Homepod to the market by the end of December 2017 (Kelly, 2017). However, as the smart speakers are not even adopted by the masses yet, it is already a hot topic in terms of privacy control.
For now, most smart speakers have been promoted for home usage, but smart speakers could be utilized for much more. For instance, Alibaba has recently formed a joint venture with Marriott International to install the staggering amount of 100.000 smart speakers in their hotels. Hotel guest will be able to change the lights, order taxis and even order room service (Jing, 2017).
However, if smart speakers will be installed in a lot of places such as your home and hotel rooms, will the tech giants be monitoring everything you say? According to them the answer is simply ‘no’. Smart speakers are set up in a way that they only actively listen to your voice when triggered by pre-set words like “Hey Alexa” or “Hey computer” (Carroll, 2015). However, this implies that they are always passively listening to your voice (Tahiri, 2017). Although the tech companies try to secure their data as much as possible, what happens if hackers are able to surpass the encryption of said devices? Will hackers be able to listen to everything you say, even in your own home? Are tech companies really only listening when their devices are triggered by the pre-set words? It won’t be the first time that tech companies have lied about privacy related matters. Take the recent news of Uber’s ability to record your smartphone’s screen as example (Sulleyman, 2017).
Eventually I believe it is rather likely that smart speakers will be adapted by the masses. However, we should be aware of the implications we consent to when bringing the tech companies really into our homes. Therefore, it is advisable that before you buy a smart speaker, to make sure you know which possible privacy concessions you are automatically making.
References
Carroll, R. (2015, November 21). Goodbye privacy, hello ‘Alexa’: Amazon Echo, the home robot who hears it all. Retrieved October 8, 2017, from theguardian.com: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/21/amazon-echo-alexa-home-robot-privacy-cloud
Jing, M. (2017, October 5). How ‘smart’ speakers and facilities could change China’s hotel industry for good. Retrieved October 8, 2017, from scmp.com: http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2113966/how-smart-speakers-and-facilities-could-change-chinas-hotel
Kelly, H. (2017, June 9). Apple’s HomePod is coming. Here’s what you need to know about smart speakers. Retrieved October 8, 2017, from money.cnn.com: http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/08/technology/gadgets/apple-homepod-smart-speaker-faq/index.html
Sulleyman, A. (2017, October 6). Uber app can secretly record everything on your iPhone’s screen, researchers find. Retrieved October 8, 2017, from independent.co.uk: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/uber-app-iphone-permissions-privacy-apple-security-greyball-london-ban-a7986336.html
Tahiri, H. (2017, June 27). Are smart speakers putting your privacy at risk? Retrieved October 8, 2017, from smartly.ai: https://smartly.ai/blog/smart-speakers-and-privacy/
