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Smartphones are vastly worse, since they’re always with me. Once I’ve accepted that, putting a smart speaker in my house doesn’t make things noticeably worse.
by mikeash 9y ago
Smartphones are vastly worse, since they’re always with me. Once I’ve accepted that, putting a smart speaker in my house doesn’t make things noticeably worse.
- pdkl95 9y agoNormalizing the use of always-on microphones in previously "private" areas (such as the home) such that people expect that their voice might be recorded and transmitted to a 3rd party removes the warrant requirement for the police to also use that technology. (Kyllo v United States) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16061681 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16061681
- JoshMnem 9y agoThe more devices you add (giving a larger number of unknown entities access to information about you), the higher the risks. Also, the solution to the smartphone problem isn't just to passively accept defeat. That will allow the problem to become worse.
- mikeash 9y agoPassively accepting defeat may not be “the solution” but it’s what approximately everybody does, including approximately everybody complaining about smart speakers.
- JoshMnem 9y agoYes, that's the problem that needs solving.
- mikeash 9y agoUnfortunately, every story about smart speakers is flooded with comments like yours, saying that they're evil and they can't understand why anyone would ever buy one, while stories about smartphones never get any comments like that. If smartphones are the problem, why are you complaining about smart speakers instead?
- JoshMnem 9y agoI comment about smartphones all the time, including at the top of this thread. :)