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mikethemartian

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2017
1,483
2,239
Melbourne, FL
Funny, you would have to be living under a rock to think this doesn’t happen at all.

Let me guess... Apple uses AI to curate and understand everything, right?
Even HIPAA allows for people’s medical information to be used in lots of various ways as part of customary business practices, so I would assume no differently in a case like this. The only thing I would expect is that identifying information be removed when not needed.
 
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480951

Cancelled
Aug 14, 2010
639
914
I guess you missed the part of the article says Apple has its employee listen to the Siri queries as well?

You must have missed the part where it said it doesn't have personal identifiers (Amazon has first name) and that Google even obscures the voice. Regardless, this is whataboutism. If all three did this it should still be illegal.
 

mikethemartian

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2017
1,483
2,239
Melbourne, FL
How did that work out for Theranos? What you lead people to believe is going on had better be what is going on. Transparency is imperative in use of data generated by an individual. My new Alexa based Fire TV Cube has a Mute button on top... it is always on. I hope that means I am not being "heard".
Does the mute button actually disconnect the microphone or does it just tell Alexa not to respond?
 
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hortod1

macrumors 6502
Jan 26, 2009
462
1,265
I stand with Amazon. They are an honest company run by an honest man. I have nothing to hide. They have no agenda other than to deliver the best speaker with the best voice assistant, which, I might add, is something Apple FAILED to do with the HomePod. And we all know how shady Apple is. Their privacy stance is a farce.

Perhaps you missed something - Amazon’s agenda is to sell you stuff and deliver it quickly. They can do that just fine, and have for years, without Alexa.
 

nouveau_redneck

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2017
551
867
Facebook, Google... now Amazon... possibly soon Microsoft...

I really love Tim Cook's Apple in a lot of ways, and security & privacy is one of them. He really is a rebel and sticking to his guns in a way to benefit the consumer.

Actually, Microsoft has been mining usage of users of their OS at detail since around the time of Windows 8. It actually started earlier, but that's when they started becoming creepy.
 

itguy06

macrumors 6502a
Mar 8, 2006
849
1,139
Yet another reason to avoid all Amazon. First it was Ring recordings the other month now Alexa.... If you want it to stop, stop using Amazon for your shopping and other stuff. They will get the message and either stop or go out of business. Both would be great things for us all.
 

theapplehead

macrumors 6502a
Dec 17, 2018
782
929
North Carolina
Why do people taking privacy on the internet so seriously? LOL... I never understand any of this outrageous... it seems to me that people just realized that big corporations and government sucks out all the information it can. Welcome to the age of internet and welcome to the connected world. I am seriously can’t believe any of these news surpising nor I remotely care.

Just not getting the outrage
Why I almost always use a VPN.
 

Darmok N Jalad

macrumors 603
Sep 26, 2017
5,252
45,104
Tanagra (not really)
Considering my name/avatar, this may not surprise you, but voice assistants make me think of being on the Enterprise, where the tech sounds cool until you realize there is no privacy!

“Computer, where is Commander Riker?”

“Commander Riker is in Counselor Troi’s quarters.”

I don’t need a computer to know what is probably going on!
 

drumcat

macrumors 65816
Feb 28, 2008
1,139
2,825
Otautahi, Aotearoa
I stand with Amazon. They are an honest company run by an honest man. I have nothing to hide. They have no agenda other than to deliver the best speaker with the best voice assistant, which, I might add, is something Apple FAILED to do with the HomePod. And we all know how shady Apple is. Their privacy stance is a farce.

Sorry, whuuuuut?
 

PKoz

macrumors regular
Dec 2, 2017
157
223
Comical. People laugh at Apple for not having good "Machine learning" / voice assistance when it's really just other companies sucking every byte of personal data to make the "user experience" better.

Still, Apple does need to do something. Siri seriously feels like it is dead-last in the market Siri started. Apple has made some good hires and I realize that behind the scenes Siri is truly getting better. But there is this constant dropping of the ball. What Google showed off with the AI making an appointment for you and the receptionist not knowing she was talking to an AI was incredible. Google is way ahead. Apple needs to make this a priority. They need to set ambitious goals for Siri and then buy, hire, do what they have to do to meet those goals. Their current pace is simply unacceptable for a company of Apple's stature. If they can't do this then they are not meeting the perception of who they are as a company.
 

magicschoolbus

macrumors 68020
May 27, 2014
2,469
8,015
What are people really telling their devices to make this such an intrusion of privacy?

All I say is what’s the weather and give me my morning briefing and Alexa play a song by Tom Petty. That’s it. It’s not like I’m saying Alexa tell Sam I am going to steal her credit card info and order hookers to her door. Like... what are people really telling this thing? And it’s not like they are listening through Alexa. You have to summon it first.

I guess I don’t find it a huge deal because I just ask it the weather and to play music for my dog.

If some guy in India wants analyze me yelling Alexa what’s the weather in New York City, then ... that’s fine. It’s not really anything personal.
 

magicschoolbus

macrumors 68020
May 27, 2014
2,469
8,015
Should be opt-in only, and we should have exact control over what they can do with it.
I mean it kind of is, you can turn this feature off.
 

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