Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

311–320 of 573 posts

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#311

Post by seanmcdirmid »

jcranberry wrote: post #293
Angostura wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not clear on this - Is Siri or Google listening for anything other than Hey Siri or OK Google?

It can't selectively listen. It processes all audio input for those key words. Once it hears the keyword, it then sends a recording of what you say next to a server.

Aren’t “OK Google, hey Siri, hey Alexa” all processed/recognized locally? Otherwise, it would be a horrible idea to send EVERYTHING off to the internet for processing. Not even concerning privacy issues, it would just be unworkable that way.

(This is at least true for the iPhone, Hey Siri is recognized locally before anything is sent off to the net)

Re reading your comment, I guess you mean: the sound processing goes through the local microphone no matter what, even if the audio is only forwarded on if they lead with certain keywords, right? In other words, just like how every other voice activated system has to work. The privacy implications are that the equipment could be compromised to actually put the recording in longer term storage, like a bug or something.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#313

Post by Enginerrrd »

shadowgovt wrote: post #276
api wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No relationship. Why does the device have to record and send everything to the cloud to provide this experience? I suspect the answer is a mix of "we want to invade privacy" and "it makes the devices cheaper to build since you can put really wimpy chips in them."

In the short run, it gives the company three direct benefits for making the technology work (besides the "They can advertise at you better" one that people like to drumbeat on). 1) Context is nearly invisible, and is constructed from dozens to hundreds of data points. Holding state on the user (not just from direct interaction with the agent, but from other services the agent can be aware of) makes a lot more context…

I feel like another motivation is to keep the neural net parameters, AKA the most valuable part of the speech recognition algorithm, off-device. It'd have to be huge otherwise, and could be easily duplicated then used as a starting place for a competing product.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#314

Post by CobrastanJorji »

api wrote: post #305
mojuba wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it looks comfortable in the Star Trek universe because it is implied that voice activated stuff is controlled by a super-AI. That is, the AI won't give humans access to the audio. Which in turn means we are going to have a super-AI that can restrict our rights and itself have access to vast amounts of information about us. I.e. Star Trek is a society essentially controlled by the AI, as it will be above us.

I think it looks comfortable in the Star Trek universe because Star Trek portrays a society that is not run by mobsters, warlords, delusional ideologues, and sociopaths. We are still very much savages. Clinical psychopaths and delusional narcissists run our institutions and major decisions are made on the basis of fanatical superstitious ideologies and mindless herd behavior. In short I won't put an Internet connecte…

> Star Trek portrays a society that is not run by mobsters

But also portrays societies run by and indeed composed entirely of mobsters (see "A Piece of the Action" TOS S2E17).

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#315

Post by outside1234 »

oppositelock wrote: post #304
saluki wrote: post #115

I was a huge Google Fan but this is becoming lunacy. I understood trading some data and privacy for great search results, maps and free quality email. But people willingly bringing always on listening devices in to their homes (beyond what smartphones are already capable of) I just can't comprehend it. Why would people voluntarily do this in exchange for being able to ask for weather, play a playlist, add a todo and…

What does having a Nest thermostat get you? I'm a tech dude, I build modern software, but I live in a dumb, old fashioned house. My programmable Honeywell thermostat, which has no internet connection, does a perfectly fine job of keeping my home the right temperature. My door locks use a key, and keys have great battery life, and my smoke detectors beep instead of speaking to me. What am I missing by not having inter…

you can turn it on remotely, like when you are on the way home from work, and have a warm house when you get there.

to me, that is the killer reason to have it online.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#317

Post by beznet »

oppositelock wrote: post #304
saluki wrote: post #115

I was a huge Google Fan but this is becoming lunacy. I understood trading some data and privacy for great search results, maps and free quality email. But people willingly bringing always on listening devices in to their homes (beyond what smartphones are already capable of) I just can't comprehend it. Why would people voluntarily do this in exchange for being able to ask for weather, play a playlist, add a todo and…

What does having a Nest thermostat get you? I'm a tech dude, I build modern software, but I live in a dumb, old fashioned house. My programmable Honeywell thermostat, which has no internet connection, does a perfectly fine job of keeping my home the right temperature. My door locks use a key, and keys have great battery life, and my smoke detectors beep instead of speaking to me. What am I missing by not having inter…

Im in the same boat, I find the concepts very fascinating but almost all of it is trying to solve problems that don't even exist for me.

The only thing my friends with IoT devices do are party tricks on voice command with their smart lights. Other than that, I find the so called 'problems' these devices solving are extraordinarily trivial.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#318

Post by reaperducer »

Quote A: "I haven't thought about this before in quite this way"

and then

B: "Does the owner of a home need to disclose to a guest? I would and do when someone enters into my home"

If A is true, then B is a lie.

If B is true, then A is a lie.

If A is true, then Google doesn't have the smartest kids in the room running things.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#319

Post by YourMatt »

oppositelock wrote: post #304
saluki wrote: post #115

I was a huge Google Fan but this is becoming lunacy. I understood trading some data and privacy for great search results, maps and free quality email. But people willingly bringing always on listening devices in to their homes (beyond what smartphones are already capable of) I just can't comprehend it. Why would people voluntarily do this in exchange for being able to ask for weather, play a playlist, add a todo and…

What does having a Nest thermostat get you? I'm a tech dude, I build modern software, but I live in a dumb, old fashioned house. My programmable Honeywell thermostat, which has no internet connection, does a perfectly fine job of keeping my home the right temperature. My door locks use a key, and keys have great battery life, and my smoke detectors beep instead of speaking to me. What am I missing by not having inter…

It's nice that it knows when I leave and adjusts accordingly automatically. If I need to come home at a non-routine time, I can adjust from my phone so that it's comfortable when I get home. I don't see the need for most smart devices, but the Nest thermostat has actually been really useful for me.

Re: Google chief: I'd disclose smart speakers before guests enter my home

#320

Post by Ajedi32 »

saluki wrote: post #115

I was a huge Google Fan but this is becoming lunacy. I understood trading some data and privacy for great search results, maps and free quality email. But people willingly bringing always on listening devices in to their homes (beyond what smartphones are already capable of) I just can't comprehend it. Why would people voluntarily do this in exchange for being able to ask for weather, play a playlist, add a todo and…

> beyond what smartphones are already capable of

What do you mean by this? What exactly is it that you believe smart speakers capable of that smartphones are not? (Modern smartphones are just as capable of listening for and responding to hotwords as smart speakers are, fyi.)

Post reply on HN