3 ms·
>Always on microphones that transmit via the internet (i.e. bugs) have been a commodity for... a few decades? But you still cannot legally bug your neighbor's a
by SilasX 7y ago
>Always on microphones that transmit via the internet (i.e. bugs) have been a commodity for... a few decades? But you still cannot legally bug your neighbor's apartment.
It has not been normal until the last few years for people to typically have an Alexa-like device that is always listening for the "I'm about to make a request" signal, which frequently gets turned on by accident.
It's not ridiculous that someone might conclude in the future, "if you're in someone's house with such a device, you should reasonably expect that some part of your conversation might get sent to the third party", which would mean a diminishing of the right to such privacy in 4th amendment jurisprudence.
And frankly, the whole concept of using voice to activate it is reckless. It is unavoidable to have significant false positives. It should be done with a non-audio signal that can't be faked (up to the limits of modern crypto), like an authenticated EM signal to turn on the listening.
- tobylane 7y agoWhat if you’re known for loudly announcing “Google, turn off your microphone”? Then you are protecting people’s expectation of your privacy/defence of it/fourth amendment rights? I’m tempted to be that person and have done it twice.
- EpicEng 7y ago>It has not been normal until the last few years for people to typically have an Alexa-like device that is always listening for the "I'm about to make a request" signal, which frequently gets turned on by accident. Google Now: 2012 Siri: 2010 Microphones in cell phones: longer than those two. It hasn't only been a few years.
- SilasX 7y agoI’m referring to voice activated assistants, and I was referring to the case when the typical (middle class) household had one, which happened long after their initial release (and arguably hasn’t even happened yet, depending on how you define “typical”).
- EpicEng 7y agoSiri and Google now are both voice activated. Who wasn't using Android or iOS when they launched?
- SilasX 7y agoAgain, the question is how long it's been common for the typical person to have the voice activated one in their home. Stop changing the question. In any case, 4 years vs 10 years doesn't matter. The point is, a court hasn't addressed it in the context of changing norms, at which point I claim there is a danger that it will re-evaluate what counts as private, just as OP was.
- kick 7y agoSiri wasn't voice-activated until a couple (few?) years ago. Google Now never was, to my knowledge, though I could be wrong.
- rhizome 7y agoHasn't Google Now (and now Assistant) always required a button/icon press before the mic turned on? And they only understand "OK Google" until after you say "OK Google?"
- filoleg 7y agosame with Alexa devices. There is a separate hardware chip that activates the rest of the stuff only after you say the trigger word. Which is also the reason for why you cannot choose an arbitrary word to activate the device with, you can only choose between about 4 different preset activation words in the settings.