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Amazon Echo

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Re: Amazon Echo

#471

Post by pc2g4d »

anigbrowl wrote: post #248
chatmasta wrote: post #87

This "internet-of-things" trend coincides unfortunately with the "dragnet surveillance" trend. With every new product launch from a "cloud company," I increasingly feel as if I'm reading the tombstone of modern society. The selling point behind these devices is convenience, but at the cost of security. I don't think I need to explain to HN why an always-on, internet connected voice recording device is something to ke…

Most people don't care because they're not culpable enough to feel paranoid. Some percentage of people will be unjustly exploited, but probably not enough to offset the economic benefits that technology like this brings to its users. I think your focus on 'the people vs the government' is misplaced, because government is just a sort of social technology which can be used and abused like any other technology depending…

> When you make arguments like this you've opted for ideology over empiricism.

Empiricism _is_ an ideology. People seem to forget that around here.

Re: Amazon Echo

#472

Post by disillusioned »

milkanic wrote: post #470
jwallaceparker wrote: post #343

Watch the promo video again and pretend it's the first few minutes of a horror movie. A package arrives on the front porch. The family brings it in and opens it. It's Alexa. It's "for everyone," says Father. The next few days are blissful. Alexa integrates herself into the family. She is indispensable. How did they ever get by without her? Father rushes in from the backyard, "Alexa, how tall is Mt. Everest?" Alexa an…

My name is Talky Tina and you'll be sorry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSy8Ko1vSKQ

Man, is it Talky Tina or Talking Tina? I always thought it was the latter, but now I'm not sure.

Re: Amazon Echo

#475

Post by teddyh »

sjs wrote: post #467
jwallaceparker wrote: post #343

Watch the promo video again and pretend it's the first few minutes of a horror movie. A package arrives on the front porch. The family brings it in and opens it. It's Alexa. It's "for everyone," says Father. The next few days are blissful. Alexa integrates herself into the family. She is indispensable. How did they ever get by without her? Father rushes in from the backyard, "Alexa, how tall is Mt. Everest?" Alexa an…

Simpsons did it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_XII

Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Seed

And a comedy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Dreams_%28film%29

Re: Amazon Echo

#477

Post by zanek » 

   Amazon bought True Knowledge which became Evi (still available on iOs,etc). Now they made a speaker that allows you to access Evi which is all this is.
   Privacy issues aside, this is just a dumb SIRI clone that is always listening.

Re: Amazon Echo

#478

Post by bryanlarsen »

atmosx wrote: post #443
memnips wrote: post #426

I'm surprised by the privacy backlash in this thread! I understand why this product is so scary for someone who is concerned about privacy, but how is this that much worse than all the other devices you use? You carry a smart-phone that presumably has GPS, a microphone, and a camera everywhere you go. There's a camera and microphone on your laptop too. Both are cloud connected. If the NSA (or any other super-power) w…

I do have control over my laptop, the NSA or Amazon would have to actively hack me in order go get to that mic and luckily I'm not worth it anyways. In order for someone (the NSA?) to track a phone and do whatever they need to do, they need to have a warrant and what-not. That's like deliberately sending all your living-room conversations (yours and your family's) online for analysis for God-knows-what purpose. You t…

There are two basic ways for the NSA to snoop on you using this device.

1. Listen to the internet traffic

2. Install malware to listen to everything

For #1, the Echo only sends conversations preceded by it's keyword. But since the alternatives to the commands you're telling Echo involve the internet anyways, what's the difference? IOW, asking echo for the weather sends the same basic information to the NSA that pulling up the weather app on your phone does.

If the NSA is going to do #2, they're going to do it to the phone in your pocket rather then targeting a niche device like the Echo.

Re: Amazon Echo

#480

Post by cvburgess »

mod wrote: post #238
cvburgess wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main selling point of a macbook is not that it can identify exactly what you say, when you said it, and send that data back to a central server that is "always getting smarter". There is also a VERY big difference for me between the things that I type into my computer and the conversations I have in my home. I say many things in an imperfect form or with a dry sense of humor - I rarely save incomplete or out-of-c…

But the macbook can do that, possibly better in fact, as it has more resources at its disposal to analyze your audio. As GP said, you're trusting that it doesn't.

100% - but the fact of the matter is that almost ALL the Echo does is analyze audio over remote servers. If Apple is doing it, it is covert and would upset a LOT of people if they found out.
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