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Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

nytimes.com

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Re: Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

#101

Post by ComputerGuru »

hunter2_ wrote: post #68
ComputerGuru wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without commenting on anything else you said, sending voice to the cloud isn’t necessarily for processing power reasons as much as it is for access to a dynamically tuned ML model that is constantly changing and improving based off of the samples it receives on a daily basis. In theory, anyway.

Can't that model be pushed out to each local device on a regular basis, and sending back the dynamic enhancements of the local copy (from your own usage) could be opt-in? The master wouldn't grow nearly as quickly, but it could be a decent compromise. Or maybe it would grow almost as quickly, if its owner also had a fully hosted option that enough people used.

ML models (depending on how implemented and the scope thereof) can be _massive_ (as in gigabytes to terabytes).

Re: Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

#102

Post by SlowRobotAhead »

adambowles wrote: post #46
coleca wrote: post #29

Isn't there an inaudible tone that you can use to disable the assistant? I recall reading somewhere that Amazon used it in their commercials for Alexa so that everyone's Echos weren't lighting up during the commercials. I know when a commercial for the Echo comes on and the voices repeat "Alexa, do X" the Echo I have near the TV speaker doesn't light up.

If I recall correctly, the adverts omit a certain frequency range from the assistant's invocation phrase which human's won't notice is missing Edit: Yep, omit / reduce tones in the 3000 - 6000 Hz range https://www.reddit.com/r/amazonecho/comments/5oer2u/i_may_ha...

Which makes WAY more sense than a range outside of human hearing that OP implicated ("inaudible").

Expecting TV's to play tones outside the range people can hear is ridiculous.

Re: Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

#103

Post by svnsets »

craftyguy wrote: post #93
sillyquiet wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do people keep repeating this tired and offensive myth? I bought my iphone for the hardware and software capabilities that I judged to be the best for my use cases. And I am not the only one that actually had a non-trite reason, I am sure.

Sure, you did (there are always outliers in every group), but for every one of you there are dozens who are buying it as a status symbol.

Why do you think iPhone has become a status symbol? I would guess it's partially because Android has had so many issues with fake apps and malware in the Google Play Store that Android has become somewhat laughable. Also, other than the antenna, every iPhone is essentially the exact same whether you buy it from AT&T or Verison or the Apple Store etc. There is no shitty Samsung or LG skin on the UI and no bloatware (other than maybe a single app preinstalled from your carrier such as the AT&T app which you can can easily uninstall in a matter of seconds). It integrates with other Apple products without needing much if any configuration.

Also, tons of people choose certain companies to buy from because of their status and reputation. That's how most industries work. Some people only buy American made cars, or only Chevy or only Honda. There's nothing wrong with brand loyalty especially when the brand is consistently delivering quality products to it's customers. iPhone isn't an arbitrary status symbol. Apple put years and years of effort into building up the reputation they have.

Re: Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

#104

Post by Bjartr »

mistermann wrote: post #80
djrogers wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Googling for 'list of siri commands' comes up with many excellent web pages, including this one from Apple themselves: https://www.apple.com/ios/siri/

I probably should have specified I'm interested in the Google one. As far as I can tell, Google doesn't post a comprehensive reference, based on: google now command reference site:google.com Most any list that's been published is from 3rd party sites, and usually from 2016. Google's documentation that I've found tends to be of a form of a random list of various different scenarios you can do, but nothing comprehensiv…

I found this at least

[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=site:assistant.google.com/se...

Re: Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

#105

Post by SlowRobotAhead »

tomcam wrote: post #91
mkirklions wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want to get rid of my alexa, but my wife uses it as a kitchen timer. We literally dont use it for anything else. Might get one of those philips light sets since our living room is weird... Tbh, id rather not use alexa..

I use my iPhone for that

Turn "Hey Siri" off though!

Say something like "My firetruck is red" -then- manually activate siri, she was listening the whole time.

Re: Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

#106

Post by mortenjorck »

freehunter wrote: post #51
djsumdog wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't bother taping over stuff. If you think about it, there are probably 10+ microphones in your room (Samsung TVs, phones, laptops, tablets, etc.) I run 3rd party roms, Linux on all my dev/tv machines, disable Cortana on my gaming laptop, and hope there isn't something listening in all that trusted, untrusted and oss code I'm running. I told my roommate I'd move out if he ever got an Alexa or Google home device.…

You should bother taping over cameras you're not using though. It's way too easy to hijack them and keep the light from turning on when you do.

The way I look at it, if someone has hijacked my MacBook Pro's camera to the degree that they can turn off the light, my entire computer has been rooted and I have far bigger problems than someone seeing me in a towel.

As for IoT cameras, though, it's the opposite. I assume all of them have already been pwned, so I never buy them in the first place.

Re: Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

#108

Post by Skunkleton »

ct0 wrote: post #42
hedora wrote: post #38

Am I the only one that wants a nice cherry mechanical keyboard that transcribes typed commands to inaudible voice commands?

yes

Usually when a comment starts with "am I the only one", the answer is NO. I think this is the first time I have ever seen a possible exception. Well done.

Re: Alexa and Siri Can Hear Hidden Commands

#110

Post by konschubert »

sailfast wrote: post #44

I can't recommend highly enough that everyone at least turn on the audible sound when their assistants are listening. At a minimum you should know the kinds of things that end up triggering the device. There's a really wide area of detection and it's interesting to see where that is. I would also recommending changing your default word at a minimum. Then again, I might also recommend ditching the device entirely but…

> I can't recommend highly enough that everyone at least turn on the audible sound when their assistants are listening.

How do I do that for Google home?

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