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I do not want an always on microphone in my house. And for sure I do not want one that is connected to the internet.

by blux 9y ago

johnpowell 9y ago
I don't either. But if the choice is between Amazon, Google, and Apple.. I am going Apple.
- rollcat 9y ago
  No, the choice is between having and not having one. We've turned off all of the "assistants" in our home - in our phones, laptops, etc. We find they provide nothing of real value, and the invasion of privacy is not acceptable.
  - Yetanfou 9y ago
    Well, you turned off all the obvious always-on listening devices. In reality any phone can be listening all the time without you knowledge. As to whether they are actually listening is another question, accusations on the subject fly [1] and [2] get rebutted [3] all the time [4] but it is hard to prove or disprove either thesis. On the subject of the usability of these 'assistants' I mostly do agree except for the possibility to use voice commands which can sometimes be useful. Fortunately that option does not need an always-on internet connection to some faraway mothership and is easy to implement in free software, e.g. [5]. [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/10/30/facebook-listening-conspiracy-theory-refuses-die/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/10/30/facebook-li... [2] http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41802282 http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41802282 [3] https://lifehacker.com/facebook-isn-t-recording-your-conversations-but-it-may-1820193946 https://lifehacker.com/facebook-isn-t-recording-your-convers... [4] https://www.startpage.com/do/dsearch?query=facebook+phone+listening https://www.startpage.com/do/dsearch?query=facebook+phone+li... [5] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiforeveryone/mycroft-mark-ii-the-open-voice-assistant https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiforeveryone/mycroft-m...
  - johnpowell 9y ago
    I don't plan on buying one either. It was more of if had to trust the three companies I would trust Apple more. Apple isn't in the business of giving me adverts for soap if I tell my roommate it is their turn to get more Irish Spring.
- melling 9y ago
  There’s always open source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiforeveryone/mycroft-mark-ii-the-open-voice-assistant https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiforeveryone/mycroft-m...

I do not want an always on microphone in my house. And for sure I do not want one that is connected to the internet.

by blux 9y ago

I do not want an always on microphone in my house. And for sure I do not want one that is connected to the internet.

johnpowell 9y ago

I don't either. But if the choice is between Amazon, Google, and Apple.. I am going Apple.

rollcat 9y ago
No, the choice is between having and not having one. We've turned off all of the "assistants" in our home - in our phones, laptops, etc. We find they provide nothing of real value, and the invasion of privacy is not acceptable.
- Yetanfou 9y ago
  Well, you turned off all the obvious always-on listening devices. In reality any phone can be listening all the time without you knowledge. As to whether they are actually listening is another question, accusations on the subject fly [1] and [2] get rebutted [3] all the time [4] but it is hard to prove or disprove either thesis. On the subject of the usability of these 'assistants' I mostly do agree except for the possibility to use voice commands which can sometimes be useful. Fortunately that option does not need an always-on internet connection to some faraway mothership and is easy to implement in free software, e.g. [5]. [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/10/30/facebook-listening-conspiracy-theory-refuses-die/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/10/30/facebook-li... [2] http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41802282 http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41802282 [3] https://lifehacker.com/facebook-isn-t-recording-your-conversations-but-it-may-1820193946 https://lifehacker.com/facebook-isn-t-recording-your-convers... [4] https://www.startpage.com/do/dsearch?query=facebook+phone+listening https://www.startpage.com/do/dsearch?query=facebook+phone+li... [5] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiforeveryone/mycroft-mark-ii-the-open-voice-assistant https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiforeveryone/mycroft-m...
- johnpowell 9y ago
  I don't plan on buying one either. It was more of if had to trust the three companies I would trust Apple more. Apple isn't in the business of giving me adverts for soap if I tell my roommate it is their turn to get more Irish Spring.
melling 9y ago
There’s always open source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiforeveryone/mycroft-mark-ii-the-open-voice-assistant https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aiforeveryone/mycroft-m...