4 ms·

So let's assume this is technically possible, and only examine the process under the lens of detectability. Assuming the codec is 8kbps, you'd see roughly 3MB u

So let's assume this is technically possible, and only examine the process under the lens of detectability. Assuming the codec is 8kbps, you'd see roughly 3MB upload for every hour of audio, and I would say it's not out of the question for the noise gate to be active from the television being on in the same room, or music playing. For an utterance, seeing a 3MB upstream would be super abnormal. It would be impossible to transmit all of this data for processing without somebody noticing.

jononor 9y ago
Why would it record continiously? If I were developing such a device I'd use random sampling. Don't have use for all the audio in every home, but a little bit from everywhere can be useful. Can be used to improve the acoustic model of the room maybe, or improve targetting of ads[1]. Some snippets from the minutes before and activation could be especially interesting, to understand the context. 1. Or more nefarious things, of course.
- soared 9y ago
  Or record audio, do speech to text, some light analysis, and upload the metadata. Or just upload a basket of words and their frequency, "Toilet Paper, 2, tv, 7, online, 4,"
  - jononor 9y ago
    Detecting who speaks is also a (relatively) lightweight analysis. Combined with bag-of-words can build personality/interest profile. Speech based gender detection can also be done, probably also detecting kids from adults. Now have good data about demographics of the household.
pdkl95 9y ago
While a noise gate is an obvious starting point, I suspect that much smarter filters are possible. A wide range of design choices are possible that trade CPU <-> complexity <-> accuracy. If a high error rate (including "no data") is acceptable, a filter might simply default to "off" when any unusual condition like "noise gate has been on continuously for 15 minutes" is detected. If I was designing this kind of spyware, I would put a hard limit that cuts off uploading any "extra" data after sending some low multiple of the "legitimate" data.

jononor 9y ago

Why would it record continiously? If I were developing such a device I'd use random sampling. Don't have use for all the audio in every home, but a little bit from everywhere can be useful. Can be used to improve the acoustic model of the room maybe, or improve targetting of ads[1]. Some snippets from the minutes before and activation could be especially interesting, to understand the context. 1. Or more nefarious things, of course.

soared 9y ago
Or record audio, do speech to text, some light analysis, and upload the metadata. Or just upload a basket of words and their frequency, "Toilet Paper, 2, tv, 7, online, 4,"
- jononor 9y ago
  Detecting who speaks is also a (relatively) lightweight analysis. Combined with bag-of-words can build personality/interest profile. Speech based gender detection can also be done, probably also detecting kids from adults. Now have good data about demographics of the household.

pdkl95 9y ago

While a noise gate is an obvious starting point, I suspect that much smarter filters are possible. A wide range of design choices are possible that trade CPU <-> complexity <-> accuracy. If a high error rate (including "no data") is acceptable, a filter might simply default to "off" when any unusual condition like "noise gate has been on continuously for 15 minutes" is detected. If I was designing this kind of spyware, I would put a hard limit that cuts off uploading any "extra" data after sending some low multiple of the "legitimate" data.