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DON’T LET THIS TECHNOLOGY INTO YOUR HOME!
From The Daily Beast:
Amazon Alexa allegedly recorded a Portland family’s private conversation and sent the audio to a person in their contact list, KIRO 7 reported. Danielle, who declined to use her last name, said she recently received a call from her husband’s employee, who told her: “Unplug your Alexa devices right now. You’re being hacked.” The employee said he’d received a recording of a conversation between Danielle and her husband about hardwood floors.
Danielle said she contacted an Amazon representative, who apologized profusely but did not explain what led Alexa to record the conversation.
“We investigated what happened and determined this was an extremely rare occurrence. We are taking steps to avoid this from happening in the future,” Amazon said in a statement.
The company, which has been selling facial-recognition technology to law enforcement, also stressed it “takes privacy very seriously.”
Traven Torsvan says
As part of Chicago’s bid to get Amazon’s 2nd HQ, they actually offered a deal where Bezos could keeps his employees’ payroll taxes, meaning in addition to being overworked and underpaid, Amazon employees would be paying taxes to their own bosses.
There’s a science fiction novel in all this…
Thom E says
True dat! When God gives you a novel, you better write it.
Thom E says
I knew this sort of shit was going to happen. Also a kid ordered several hundred dollars worth of pizza, and one family received all sorts of stuff that had talked about that they liked.
deuce says
Any speaker in your house can, theoretically, be turned into a microphone. I never considered getting Alexa. Not for one second.
I like technology to a point but I’m not really a gadget guy.
I don’t even use Siri on my iPhone.
I have zero desire to enter into a relationship with a device. I mean, I wouldn’t mind ordering “Computer, play some Waylon Jennings” but you start personalizing and giving it cute names? C’mon.
And if you think Alexa creepy, just wait ’til you meet this guy;
JIBO
https://www.jibo.com/
Seriously. Read their marketing. It just oozes “robot creepy/creeper dude.”
He’s part of the family
Jibo doesn’t just learn your face and voice; he learns who you are, and what matters to you — including the people you care about most. Whether it’s greeting your family members by name, remembering a birthday or snapping hands-free photos at a family dinner, Jibo’s there to support you and your loved ones.
(I learned about Jibo because the company hit me up on LinkedIn. After reading the above I had zero interest in being involve. I prefer my robots drone‑y, dull, and merely functional.)
Propaganda for transhumanism.
J.F. Bell says
Take an ax to this thing while you still can.
Because without fail, it’s either going to usurp and compromise your whole existence or some idiot is going to start giving it legal rights.
John Cornelius says
Bezos: Alexa, buy me something from Whole Foods.
Alexa: Buying Whole Foods.
Bezos: Oh, shit.
It could have happened that way! 😉
Well played, Bro.
TJ says
Sheesh. I don’t know Craig, seemed like we used to have a lot more hoops to jump through back in the NET days, besides asking Alexa. Talk about an easy button.
Perhaps Mr. Halford was on to something? As a child of the macho 80’s Metal Sect — It took me a while to recover from seeing Rob Halford at that parade. Who Knew? Another crushing childhood moment.……
Judas Priest — Electric Eye
Up here in space
I’m looking down on you
My lasers trace
Everything you do
You think you’ve private lives
Think nothing of the kind
There is no true escape
I’m watching all the time
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
I’m elected electric spy
I’m protected electric eye
Always in focus
You can’t feel my stare
I zoom into you
You don’t know I’m there
I take a pride in probing all your secret moves
My tearless retina takes pictures that can prove
I’m made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
Electric eye,…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlbR2PI5vfE
RLT says
Someone offered to buy us Alexa last Christmas. I offered to take theirs out back and shoot it. We both thought we’d be doing the other a favor.
Lane Batot says
I’m sure if I ever ended up with one a them techno witches(this is purely hypothetical for discussion’s sake), it would soon develop a serious computer virus and expire fairly quickly. Skynet will never completely take over, because of those genetically high-tech machine jinxes like myself that are born into every generation for the preservation of the species. It CAN be a trial at times–as in the recent demise of my refrigerator, a white-man invention I am personally rather fond of. The new replacement has several joo-joo medicine items adorning it to protect it(and my food supply) by superstition from my powerful anti-machine aura.….
All of which makes me glad that I’ve completely bypassed this device. Of course, that doesn’t keep me from lamenting its arrival.