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> Lets stay grounded in reality here, Google is paying money on your behalf to improve your experience. Lets stay grounded in reality here, Google is not doing

> Lets stay grounded in reality here, Google is paying money on your behalf to improve your experience. Lets stay grounded in reality here, Google is not doing this for me or on my behalf. Google just invests a bit to take a bunch of very valuable user data and then monetizes it for far more than it took to obtain it. This relies on the fact that most users are unaware of how valuable their data is. As a business model there's nothing illegal about this. But in any other sense it's no different from tricking an uneducated individual into selling their kidney for $2000 just so you can resell it for $20.000 and pretend you're doing them a favor by giving them money. And as long as the vast majority of customers are in the dark regarding the value of their data and what they're actually trading when using such a system then yes, this is Google (and not only) abusing ignorance to line their pockets.

greiskul 7y ago
How do they monetize voice recognition data, other then by selling devices that use voice recognition, and trying to make them better for the user?
- inetknght 7y ago
  Can you imagine how valuable voice data could be if it could be mined to show what products, politics, opinions are being discussed in the real world? Can you imagine how valuable your voice data would be to a marketing campaign which you didn't even know you had participated in? Can you imagine how much valuable information is contained in the vocal enunciation of A/B testing? Every little "hmmm" or "how do I go backwards?" or "what does this button do?" that people don't even realize they're saying. Can you imagine how much that violates someone's privacy?
- close04 7y ago
  > other then by selling devices that use voice recognition That's one way but what's the actual question? My point is they are not doing this as a favor to the user (as GP seemed to suggest), they are doing it for a profit by getting the user's data far too cheaply. And for this they rely on the user staying unaware of the value of their data, how it will be used, and how much is collected in the first place. The voice recognition tech itself (and any ancillary parts) can be sold/licensed to so they can build similar systems. The actual data obtained by the voice recognition can be used exactly like any other data Google collects. They literally have access to what you say around their microphone. You can't not see any way they could make money from this. 20 years ago monetizing the free search was just as much of a mystery for many, including seasoned investors.

greiskul 7y ago

How do they monetize voice recognition data, other then by selling devices that use voice recognition, and trying to make them better for the user?

inetknght 7y ago
Can you imagine how valuable voice data could be if it could be mined to show what products, politics, opinions are being discussed in the real world? Can you imagine how valuable your voice data would be to a marketing campaign which you didn't even know you had participated in? Can you imagine how much valuable information is contained in the vocal enunciation of A/B testing? Every little "hmmm" or "how do I go backwards?" or "what does this button do?" that people don't even realize they're saying. Can you imagine how much that violates someone's privacy?
close04 7y ago
> other then by selling devices that use voice recognition That's one way but what's the actual question? My point is they are not doing this as a favor to the user (as GP seemed to suggest), they are doing it for a profit by getting the user's data far too cheaply. And for this they rely on the user staying unaware of the value of their data, how it will be used, and how much is collected in the first place. The voice recognition tech itself (and any ancillary parts) can be sold/licensed to so they can build similar systems. The actual data obtained by the voice recognition can be used exactly like any other data Google collects. They literally have access to what you say around their microphone. You can't not see any way they could make money from this. 20 years ago monetizing the free search was just as much of a mystery for many, including seasoned investors.