Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Concerns about smart speakers are real
They capture data and insights about us and will become irresistible to hackers.
Source: Why concerns about smart speakers are real - The Listener
Peter Griffin
writes:
Let’s not kid ourselves – these smart speakers are not really about our convenience but capturing more data and insights about us as humans and consumers and channelling us to the various online services those tech companies control. That’s why Alexa made its debut and why Amazon made the Dot such a cheap device.
If this doesn't scare you, then you haven't been paying attention. Which is exactly what the big technology companies behind these speakers rely on.
George Orwell's 1984 was a set book when I was at high school in the 1970s. At the time we write essays imaging a dystopian future where a totalitarian government would spy on its citizens. We may get there yet.
What Orwell and none of us worrying about privacy in the 1970s came close to grasping was that people would gladly buy the Big Brother snooping technology themselves. Nor did we imagine the main purpose of the snooping would be to find ways to fleece us.
Bill Bennett
New Zealand technology news
Bill Bennett publishes technology news and features that are directly relevant to New Zealand readers.
Covering enterprise and small business computing, start-ups, listed companies, the technology channel and devices. Bennett's main focus is on New Zealand innovation.
Bill Bennett stories are republished on Geekzone and Scoop.
Stories published on this site are available to publishers for a fixed fee or a monthly subscription.
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