SMART Home Technology: Are We Ever Really Alone Anymore?

 

"Hello, Smart Home" by magerleagues is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

SMART Technology: Are We Ever Really Alone Anymore?

    I am sure I am not the only person who relies on Smart devices from providers like Amazon and Google in everyday life. In my house, we use it for music, weather, timers, general information and celebrity facts, recipes, spelling words and even making calls and connecting with other devices. We have devices connected in almost every room. They really can be a marvel in. the way that they seem to usually have the answers we are looking for, as long as we ask a clear question. There are times, though, when my devices seem to be listening when I don't ask. How much are these devices listening, and should we be concerned? 

Using dialogue from popular television shows, researchers at Northeastern University have discovered that smart speakers are often fooled into recording when they hear words other than the wake words created to summon Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, and Microsoft's Cortana. (st. John, 2020).

What Your Smart Devices Know (and Share) About You

    This link is to a TEDTalk video by Kashmir Hill and Surya Mattu. They wanted to find out how much their Smart devices were listening in, "so they outfitted Hill's apartment with 18 different internet-connected devices and built a special router to track how often they contacted their servers and see what they were reporting back. (Hill & Mattu, 2018)."

    There are ways to prevent eavesdropping, such as muting the devices. However, this also disables the ability for them to respond as they were intended. Be sure to view and understand privacy settings. Many devices provide a log of what has been recorded and some offer the ability to delete recordings. It is always a good idea to understand the way your home Smart devices work and to be comfortable using the app that accompanies them. In my house, we have Amazon devices. In the app, under the MORE tab, I can access Activities and see all the ways I and my family have utilized our Alexa system. I feel safer being able to access the activities and to see, and hear, all the crazy things my kid asks "her" to do. 

References

Hill, K., & Mattu, S. (2018, July 18). What your smart devices know (and share) about you. TED Talks. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/kashmir_hill_and_surya_mattu_what_your_smart_devices_know_and_share_about_you

st. John, B. A. (2020, July 9). Yes, Your Smart Speaker Is Listening When It Shouldn’t. Consumer Reports. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.consumerreports.org/smart-speakers/yes-your-smart-speaker-is-listening-when-it-should-not/