I agree with the author's aims, but for the average person the difference between a hardware and software switch is likely immaterial. To the uninitiated, there

I agree with the author's aims, but for the average person the difference between a hardware and software switch is likely immaterial. To the uninitiated, there's not a great reason to trust that Alexa's "mute" button does what it says. To gain trust, I think we need tactile physical interventions: a built-in webcam cover and a slider over the microphone. If it doesn't exist already, I'd imagine there's a market for a nicely designed phone case that includes both.