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In pursuit of a low battery foot print and low memory foot print the "wake up word" technology is really just a trained ML classifier running locally to identif

In pursuit of a low battery foot print and low memory foot print the "wake up word" technology is really just a trained ML classifier running locally to identify a specific 3+ syllable phrase. They don't start sending everything to the mothership until after that gate is passed.

x5n1 11y ago
What happens when they do?
- xgbi 11y ago
  Your phone battery dies in 3 hours. This is why we're "lucky" to have limited battery tech right now. What's to fear is when a minuscule device will get years and years of energy with new battery tech. This is where ubiquitous connected devices will ramp up and pose the real privacy threat.
  - lolive 11y ago
    I will happily share all my secrets with such devices. Just give them the voice of Scarlett Johansson :)
  - nkozyra 11y ago
    > Your phone battery dies in 3 hours. I'm not so sure. Passive background network activity happens perpetually on Android and iOS devices now. I'm not saying it doesn't have an impact on battery life, I'm just saying that sending chunks of speech during this time wouldn't have significantly more impact than Gmail syncing in the background.
  - biot 11y ago
    My iPhone has Hey Siri on all the time and lasts for 2-3 days between charges.
    - xgbi 11y ago
      Because it does all voice recognition in-place by a highly specific chip. If you send out all voice data to a server, you're tapping into both CPU and radio, which is quite equivalent as when you speak on, say, Facetime audio or a VoIP app. I dare you to speak for more than a few hours with WhatsApp.
RockyMcNuts 11y ago
So when it's plugged in to power it can send everything? how reassuring, since I pretty much always plug it in when I'm home? Related, my 'Hey Siri' is only active when the iPhone is plugged in.
- scep12 11y ago
  It could send everything, but you can do some pretty basic investigation to figure out if it actually does. Spoiler: It doesn't.

x5n1 11y ago

What happens when they do?

xgbi 11y ago
Your phone battery dies in 3 hours. This is why we're "lucky" to have limited battery tech right now. What's to fear is when a minuscule device will get years and years of energy with new battery tech. This is where ubiquitous connected devices will ramp up and pose the real privacy threat.
- lolive 11y ago
  I will happily share all my secrets with such devices. Just give them the voice of Scarlett Johansson :)
- nkozyra 11y ago
  > Your phone battery dies in 3 hours. I'm not so sure. Passive background network activity happens perpetually on Android and iOS devices now. I'm not saying it doesn't have an impact on battery life, I'm just saying that sending chunks of speech during this time wouldn't have significantly more impact than Gmail syncing in the background.
- biot 11y ago
  My iPhone has Hey Siri on all the time and lasts for 2-3 days between charges.
  - xgbi 11y ago
    Because it does all voice recognition in-place by a highly specific chip. If you send out all voice data to a server, you're tapping into both CPU and radio, which is quite equivalent as when you speak on, say, Facetime audio or a VoIP app. I dare you to speak for more than a few hours with WhatsApp.

RockyMcNuts 11y ago

So when it's plugged in to power it can send everything? how reassuring, since I pretty much always plug it in when I'm home? Related, my 'Hey Siri' is only active when the iPhone is plugged in.

scep12 11y ago
It could send everything, but you can do some pretty basic investigation to figure out if it actually does. Spoiler: It doesn't.