Google and Amazon use smart speakers for "surveillance" says advanced technology investor



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<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Technology investor John Borthwick does not chew his words when he perceives Google's smart speakers (GOOG& nbsp;GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN). The founder of the venture capital company & nbsp;Betaworks& nbsp; and the old Time Warner (T) and AOL (VZThe manager believes that the collection of information by such devices is equivalent to monitoring. "data-reactid =" 15 "> The technology investor John Borthwick does not hesitate to say what is the perception of the smart speakers by Google (GOOG (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) The founder of venture capital firm Betaworks and the former CEO of Time Warner (T) and AOL (VZ) believe that the collection of information from such devices is equivalent to monitoring.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "" I would say that there are two or three layers Borthwick told Yahoo Finance's chief executive, Andy Serwer, in an interview for his series "influencers. "" Data-reactid = "16"> "I would say that there are two or three layers of problematic diapers with these new smart speakers, smart earbuds currently on the market," said Borthwick, editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance, Andy Serwer at an interview for his series "Influencers".

"And the first is that, from the consumer's point of view, from the user's point of view, these devices are used for what is – it's hard to call it anything other than surveillance", said Borthwick.

John Borthwick talks with Andy Serwer of Yahoo Finance.

The path to follow? A form of regulation that gives users more control over their own data.

"I personally think that as a user and as a person who loves technology, who wants to use technology, you should have a lot more rights to the use of your data than we do." We have today, "said Borthwick.

Smart assistants face judgment

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The comments of the venture capitalist follow a series of controversies surrounding smart assistants, including the Google Assistant, Alexa of Amazon and Apple (AAPL) Siri, in which each company admitted that human workers listened to users' requests to improve the speech recognition capabilities of their digital assistants. "Data-reactid =" 41 "> The venture capitalist's comments follow a series of controversies surrounding smart assistants including Google's assistant, Alexa's Amazon and Apple's Siri ( AAPL), in which each company admitted that human workers listened to users' requests to improve the speech recognition capabilities of their digital assistants.

"They turned to these devices and said," Give us data when people are acting passively on the device. "In other words, I'm getting close to this switch," said Borthwick. "I turn it off, I turn it on, they now render the data to the smart speaker."

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It's important to note that smart enclosures from all major companies are only enabled when you use their appropriate standby word. To activate your Echo loudspeaker, for example, you have to say "Alexa" followed by your order. The same goes for Google's assistant and Apple's Siri.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The tumult surrounding the smart speakers and their assistants started & nbsp;when Bloomberg reported& nbsp; In April, Amazon used a global team of employees and subcontractors to listen to users' voice commands and improve their voice recognition. Alexa "data-reactid =" 57 "> The hype surrounding smart speakers and their assistants began when Bloomberg published a report.In April, Amazon called on a global team of employees and subcontractors to listen to voice commands sent to users to Alexa to improve speech recognition.

General view of an Amazon Echo smart speaker next to an ear thermometer and pills. Alexa from Amazon is ready to answer questions about people's health by searching the official NHS website. (Photo by Andrew Matthews / PA Images via Getty Images)

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "This was followed by a similar report by & nbsp;VRT News based in Belgium on Google& nbsp; employees listening to voice commands from users for Google Assistant. & nbsp;The Guardian& nbsp; then published a third article on Apple employees listening to Siri commands from users. Facebook has also been involved in the controversy when & nbsp;Bloomberg& nbsp; reported that employees had listened to voice commands from users through their Messenger application. "data-reactid =" 78 "> A similar report from VRT News, based in Belgium, followed.Google Assistant.The Guardian then released a third article on Apple employees listening to Siri commands from users.However, Facebook was controversial when Bloomberg announced that employees were listening to voice commands from users via its Messenger application.

Since then, Google and Apple have apologized. Google has terminated the practice and Apple announced that it would automatically exclude users from collecting voice samples. Users will instead have to choose whether they wish to provide voice samples to improve Siri's voice recognition.

Amazon, for its part, allowed users not to share their voice samples with their employees, while Facebook said the practice was interrupted.

Close-up of Google Home Mini Smart Speaker with Illuminated Lights in a Smart Home in San Ramon, California, March 26, 2019. (Photo by Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images)

The use of voice samples has enhanced the voice recognition capabilities of digital assistants, allowing them to better understand what users are saying and the context in which they say it.

The question is whether users knew that the employees of these companies were listening. There is also the problem of accidental activations, which can cause employees to hear conversations or excerpts of conversations that they might not have been supposed to hear otherwise.

In terms of how such issues might be addressed in the future, Borthwick points to a form of technological regulation. Although it does not offer details, the VC says that users must be able to understand how their data is used and take control of it.

"I think that, in general, it's about giving users a lot more power over the decisions that are made. I think that's part of it, "he said.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Editor's Note: AOL is owned by Verizon Media, the parent company of Yahoo Finance."data-reactid =" 109 ">Editor's Note: AOL is owned by Verizon Media, the parent company of Yahoo Finance.

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<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Email Daniel Howley at [email protected]; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley."data-reactid =" 116 ">Email Daniel Howley at [email protected]; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.

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