8 ms·

> If you were a Mercor contractor and you believe your voice may already be in circulation, ORAVYS will analyze the first three suspect samples free of charge.

by oefrha 6mo ago

> If you were a Mercor contractor and you believe your voice may already be in circulation, ORAVYS will analyze the first three suspect samples free of charge. Awesome, if you're a victim of an AI company having your voice, you can help yourself by sending another AI company your voice! > Audio is never used to train commercial models without explicit consent I'm sure Mercor has explicit consent as well, legal teams are reasonably good at legally covering their asses with license terms.

a012 6mo ago
Reminds me of my experience when trying to remove my Airbnb account, they require my ID card scans of both sides. I said fuck it and never touch this company again
- zelphirkalt 6mo ago
  Quickly, extract some more money from this customer and hold their data hostage!
sidewndr46 6mo ago
This reminds me of those identity theft settlements, where you need to prove your identity to claim the reward
Henchman21 6mo ago
Has your identity been stolen? Try our free credit monitoring for a month! Selling the solution to the problem you caused ought to be illegal.
- hedora 6mo ago
  This would eliminate the credit report, monitoring and fixing industry, which would be a good thing. Court records are public in the US. If creditors want to know if you’ve been in financial trouble, they should check for bankruptcies and lawsuits, not the extrajudicial version of those that the credit reporting companies run based on hearsay.
  - sokoloff 6mo ago
    Credit reporting is better in some ways than alternative systems of “vouching” for someone. It’s not better in all ways, of course, but the alternative is not “everyone gets cheap credit extended to them” but rather “people who rich people know and trust get cheap credit extended to them, some others get more expensive credit, and some get no credit extended”. It’s not obvious to me that that’s better.
    - hedora 5mo ago
      We definitely are already in the second regime. The credit rating industry just makes sure the bottom 99% of the decision making also happens in secret.
      - sokoloff 5mo ago
        I come from purely middle-class roots (100% blue collar grandparents and public school teacher parents). I got a lot of inexpensive credit extended to me throughout my life, without any rich people knowing me from Adam.
- zkmon 6mo ago
  > Selling the solution to the problem you caused ought to be illegal. Most tech solutions are built on the problems they created. This includes phones, cars, computers, every software upgrade, and almost every electronic gadget. You are forced to use them because the world around you is no longer compatible with the way of life that was before the introduction of these tech.
  - danlitt 6mo ago
    I probably agree with you but what on earth are phones and cars doing in this list? They solve obvious physical problems not caused by a company.
    - itintheory 6mo ago
      My interpretation would be that cars are necessary to live in places where urban design assumes that we'll use cars to get around. Many cities are designed this way. Similarly, phones are required now for some activities, like online banking. First it was an option, then it became the norm.
      - zkmon 6mo ago
        Exactly.
    - nix0n 6mo ago
      General Motors contributed significantly to the decline of passenger rail in the USA. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...
  - Henchman21 5mo ago
    I’ve spent some time thinking about this. I’ve basically decided this is nonsense. Please give me the problem that the following both created and solved: phones, cars, computers. In my view the problems of “communication over distances”, “quickly traveling over distances” and “having information to process” all existed as problems well before we invented these solutions. So that leaves only the idea that we’re forced to use these tool because the world has changed. That is frequently true but hinges on the amount of effort an individual is willing to make - and their economic prowess in an economy that rewards groupthink. I stand by my original statement: selling solutions to problems you created ought to be illegal.
caminante 6mo ago
Per the WSJ article last week, I suspect Mercor's playing in a grey area of contracts. It wasn't just voice.[0] A lot of people were basically wiretapping themselves AND their businesses! While a lot of Mercor "contractors" claim Mercor over-reached with data gathering via Insightful, it's kind of smart because people are too afraid to complain too much knowing they'll not only lose their primary job, but also open themselves up to uncapped liability for willful misconduct. [0] https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/mercor-ai-startup-personal-data-lawsuit-0b5c349b?st=5qmCSK&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/mercor-ai-startup-personal-data-...
saadn92 6mo ago
The irony runs deeper than the free analysis offer. The whole Mercor contractor relationship was this exact pattern: hand over studio-quality voice recordings and ID scans to get paid for data labeling work that didn't require either. "Explicit consent" was buried in the terms, and people clicked through because they needed the paycheck. Now 40k people have learned that biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice.
- inetknght 6mo ago
  > biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice. "My voice is my passport. Verify me." I have to renew my passport every 10 years or so. How do I do that with my voice? I guess it's time to take some vocal lessons.
  - Romario77 6mo ago
    just take up smoking heavily
    - throwaway67743 6mo ago
      Despite popular belief, even heavy smoking does not alter your voice in a significant way.
      - reaperducer 6mo ago
        Despite popular belief, even heavy smoking does not alter your voice in a significant way. I guess you don't listen to Sinatra.
        ssl-3 6mo ago
        Or John Mellencamp, who repeatedly states in interviews that he likes what smoking does to his singing voice.
      - terbo 6mo ago
        Depends on what you're smoking
lynndotpy 6mo ago
I think "CYA" is maybe a misleading or overflowery term. In the idealized world, the legal system is meant to provide an accessible alternative to violence for reconciling disputes, but it's increasingly wielded as an impossibly kafkaesque system meant to maintain corporate power over individuals. I think "CYA" is an overly-flowery term for the reality that they're blocking every avenue for legal recourse, while a variety of other avenues still exist for which adding friction requires the maintenance of expensive and ongoing costs (owning multiple residences, hiring security, etc.) (To be clear, I am advocating for a more accessible and level legal system, not for UHC-style violence.)
- cholmdomsky 6mo ago
  I'm taking some college courses, and one of them explicitly suggests to keep maybe-not-okay communications off of email so that "you don't expose your company to risks of litigation." Ah, I see. So, when discussing ways to ensure cuatomers cannot utilize our warranty process, I'll make sure to do so in ways that are not traceable and won't show up in discovery.
  - skybrian 6mo ago
    The underlying reason is that employees don't always know what they're talking about, but their nonsense could be useful to the other side in a court case. The bigger the company, the more speculation there is about stuff people don't actually understand.
    - CPLX 6mo ago
      That’s not the underlying reason.
    - lovich 6mo ago
      The underlying reason is to break the law and not get caught. Let’s be real here.
      - shermantanktop 6mo ago
cyanydeez 6mo ago
This reminds me of all the new companies that want to "help" you get your public information out of $CORPORATE hands; as if these companies will some how not succumb to either enshittification or breach. The good thing about the grift economy is it grifts itself, like the turtles!
aitchnyu 6mo ago
I remember an AI dataset tool asking candidates to record a 1 minute self intro video for interview purposes in 2022. I was wondering if they were manually watching all of them.
1vuio0pswjnm7 6mo ago
[dead]
Oravys 5mo ago
Hi oefrha. I totally understand your point of view. The only thing is: we give you an opportunity to recognize how unique your voice actually is. We only analyze the audio file to show you how much uniqueness a voice carries. Audio is never used for training without explicit consent and is purged on a defined retention schedule. That is very important to us and also to let people know what their voice has to offer them for their growth and self awareness. Big difference wiTh what Mercor did.

by oefrha 6mo ago

a012 6mo ago

Reminds me of my experience when trying to remove my Airbnb account, they require my ID card scans of both sides. I said fuck it and never touch this company again

zelphirkalt 6mo ago
Quickly, extract some more money from this customer and hold their data hostage!

sidewndr46 6mo ago

This reminds me of those identity theft settlements, where you need to prove your identity to claim the reward

Henchman21 6mo ago

Has your identity been stolen? Try our free credit monitoring for a month! Selling the solution to the problem you caused ought to be illegal.

hedora 6mo ago
This would eliminate the credit report, monitoring and fixing industry, which would be a good thing. Court records are public in the US. If creditors want to know if you’ve been in financial trouble, they should check for bankruptcies and lawsuits, not the extrajudicial version of those that the credit reporting companies run based on hearsay.
- sokoloff 6mo ago
  Credit reporting is better in some ways than alternative systems of “vouching” for someone. It’s not better in all ways, of course, but the alternative is not “everyone gets cheap credit extended to them” but rather “people who rich people know and trust get cheap credit extended to them, some others get more expensive credit, and some get no credit extended”. It’s not obvious to me that that’s better.
  - hedora 5mo ago
    We definitely are already in the second regime. The credit rating industry just makes sure the bottom 99% of the decision making also happens in secret.
    - sokoloff 5mo ago
      I come from purely middle-class roots (100% blue collar grandparents and public school teacher parents). I got a lot of inexpensive credit extended to me throughout my life, without any rich people knowing me from Adam.
zkmon 6mo ago
> Selling the solution to the problem you caused ought to be illegal. Most tech solutions are built on the problems they created. This includes phones, cars, computers, every software upgrade, and almost every electronic gadget. You are forced to use them because the world around you is no longer compatible with the way of life that was before the introduction of these tech.
- danlitt 6mo ago
  I probably agree with you but what on earth are phones and cars doing in this list? They solve obvious physical problems not caused by a company.
  - itintheory 6mo ago
    My interpretation would be that cars are necessary to live in places where urban design assumes that we'll use cars to get around. Many cities are designed this way. Similarly, phones are required now for some activities, like online banking. First it was an option, then it became the norm.
    - zkmon 6mo ago
      Exactly.
  - nix0n 6mo ago
    General Motors contributed significantly to the decline of passenger rail in the USA. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...
- Henchman21 5mo ago
  I’ve spent some time thinking about this. I’ve basically decided this is nonsense. Please give me the problem that the following both created and solved: phones, cars, computers. In my view the problems of “communication over distances”, “quickly traveling over distances” and “having information to process” all existed as problems well before we invented these solutions. So that leaves only the idea that we’re forced to use these tool because the world has changed. That is frequently true but hinges on the amount of effort an individual is willing to make - and their economic prowess in an economy that rewards groupthink. I stand by my original statement: selling solutions to problems you created ought to be illegal.

caminante 6mo ago

Per the WSJ article last week, I suspect Mercor's playing in a grey area of contracts. It wasn't just voice.[0] A lot of people were basically wiretapping themselves AND their businesses! While a lot of Mercor "contractors" claim Mercor over-reached with data gathering via Insightful, it's kind of smart because people are too afraid to complain too much knowing they'll not only lose their primary job, but also open themselves up to uncapped liability for willful misconduct. [0] https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/mercor-ai-startup-personal-data-lawsuit-0b5c349b?st=5qmCSK&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/mercor-ai-startup-personal-data-...

saadn92 6mo ago

The irony runs deeper than the free analysis offer. The whole Mercor contractor relationship was this exact pattern: hand over studio-quality voice recordings and ID scans to get paid for data labeling work that didn't require either. "Explicit consent" was buried in the terms, and people clicked through because they needed the paycheck. Now 40k people have learned that biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice.

inetknght 6mo ago
> biometrics aren't passwords. You can't rotate your voice. "My voice is my passport. Verify me." I have to renew my passport every 10 years or so. How do I do that with my voice? I guess it's time to take some vocal lessons.
- Romario77 6mo ago
  just take up smoking heavily
  - throwaway67743 6mo ago
    Despite popular belief, even heavy smoking does not alter your voice in a significant way.
    - reaperducer 6mo ago
      Despite popular belief, even heavy smoking does not alter your voice in a significant way. I guess you don't listen to Sinatra.
      - ssl-3 6mo ago
        Or John Mellencamp, who repeatedly states in interviews that he likes what smoking does to his singing voice.
    - terbo 6mo ago
      Depends on what you're smoking

lynndotpy 6mo ago

I think "CYA" is maybe a misleading or overflowery term. In the idealized world, the legal system is meant to provide an accessible alternative to violence for reconciling disputes, but it's increasingly wielded as an impossibly kafkaesque system meant to maintain corporate power over individuals. I think "CYA" is an overly-flowery term for the reality that they're blocking every avenue for legal recourse, while a variety of other avenues still exist for which adding friction requires the maintenance of expensive and ongoing costs (owning multiple residences, hiring security, etc.) (To be clear, I am advocating for a more accessible and level legal system, not for UHC-style violence.)

cholmdomsky 6mo ago
I'm taking some college courses, and one of them explicitly suggests to keep maybe-not-okay communications off of email so that "you don't expose your company to risks of litigation." Ah, I see. So, when discussing ways to ensure cuatomers cannot utilize our warranty process, I'll make sure to do so in ways that are not traceable and won't show up in discovery.
- skybrian 6mo ago
  The underlying reason is that employees don't always know what they're talking about, but their nonsense could be useful to the other side in a court case. The bigger the company, the more speculation there is about stuff people don't actually understand.
  - CPLX 6mo ago
    That’s not the underlying reason.
  - lovich 6mo ago
    The underlying reason is to break the law and not get caught. Let’s be real here.
    - shermantanktop 6mo ago

cyanydeez 6mo ago

This reminds me of all the new companies that want to "help" you get your public information out of $CORPORATE hands; as if these companies will some how not succumb to either enshittification or breach. The good thing about the grift economy is it grifts itself, like the turtles!

aitchnyu 6mo ago

I remember an AI dataset tool asking candidates to record a 1 minute self intro video for interview purposes in 2022. I was wondering if they were manually watching all of them.

1vuio0pswjnm7 6mo ago

[dead]

Oravys 5mo ago

Hi oefrha. I totally understand your point of view. The only thing is: we give you an opportunity to recognize how unique your voice actually is. We only analyze the audio file to show you how much uniqueness a voice carries. Audio is never used for training without explicit consent and is purged on a defined retention schedule. That is very important to us and also to let people know what their voice has to offer them for their growth and self awareness. Big difference wiTh what Mercor did.