New residential housing is scheduled to come online in June, and like it or not, you will have a roommate — Alexa comes factory installed. The Providence Journal recently took a tour of River House on Point Street and many of these units have spectacular views. The place looks swell. (Quick aside: One sentence jumped out at me . . . one we should all keep in mind as we assess future development.)
Originally pitched as graduate student housing, the project has morphed and now more resembles a luxury apartment complex, where rents start at $1,495 a month for two-bedroom apartments.
I have no problem with this project — it’s attractive enough, conforms with the scale of the site, and will bring more life to the area which can generate more economic growth. And these developers have followed all the rules and conformed with the city’s zoning requirements, unlike Jason Fane.
My real complaint is with Alexa in general, and how Americans have gotten so comfortable so fast having smart speakers in their lives. They are listening to everything you say and recording more than you know! (Surveys show that many owners leave the room or lower their voices when they don’t want Alexa to hear. Why are people living like this?)
We have had abundant evidence of how vulnerable/sinister these systems are. Last year Bloomberg reported, “A married Oregon couple found out that their Amazon Echo had sent their friend a recording of a private conversation they were having about hardwood floors.” Now they report that the tech giants are demanding a continuous stream of customer information from smart-home manufacturers.
In other words, after you connect a light fixture to Alexa, Amazon wants to know every time the light is turned on or off, regardless of whether you asked Alexa to toggle the switch. Televisions must report the channel they’re set to. Smart locks must keep the company apprised whether or not the front door bolt is engaged.
You may be completely comfortable shoveling data into the AI abyss, but have your children signed off on this? Voiceprints are forever.
What you can not find in all of history is an example of surveillance power that does not get seriously abused.
Given the coziness of Apple with the Department of Defense and ICE. will Alexa be tasked with reporting the trigger words (now searched in emails) that identify a terrorist. Given that police and the federal govt tend to identify left wing activists as terrorists, and perhaps you talk a bot going to a demo or you read about one out loud to your spouse or roommate, will men in black start chowing up your neighbors’ doors in order to collect info about you? Of course this little reply could be seen as the start of a movie rather than the start of some reality. But who knows?