In today's tech-savvy world, Amazon Alexa Echo has quickly become the lovable, chatty assistant many of us never knew we needed.
With its friendly demeanor and endless list of capabilities, Alexa is much more than just a voice-activated speaker and can help us with so many different things. So much so, sometimes we almost forget it's there.
But that could actually be something to worry about, according to an expert.
Many of us are so used to saying "Alexa…" followed by a command - it just makes life so much easier. Who needs a DJ when Alexa is around? Just say, "Alexa, play some jazz," and voilà! Your personal music genie is at your service. Plus, Alexa can make custom playlists and also control smart home devices too.
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Forgetful? No problem. Alexa can remember things so you don’t have to, like setting daily alarms to reminding you about important tasks, or remembering to call someone on their birthday. The problem is, we may also 'forget' sometimes that Alexa is in the room with us, listening out for any forthcoming requests.
But experts say that Alexa users should be wary about exactly where they are placing Alexa and warn against placing the device in bedrooms, for fear of users themselves becoming the ‘entertainment.’
Many have speculated as to whether Alexa or, more specifically, Amazon employees can listen-in through the device.
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Tech Expert Dr Hannah Fry spoke to the Daily Mail back in 2019, the same year whistleblowers from Amazon suggested workers might have been tapping into conversations in order to check that the devices were working properly.
"This technology is activated by a trigger word [such as 'Alexa'] but it keeps recording for a short period afterwards. People accept that, but we should all spend more time thinking about what it means for us,” Dr Fry said.
She added: "There are people who are very senior in the tech world who will not have so much as a smartphone in their bedroom… If a company is offering you a device with an internet-connected microphone at a low price, you have to think about that very carefully…
"I have both an Alexa and a Google voice-activated device and I regularly turn them both off. People really must set their own limits."
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A spokesperson for Amazon told LADbible: "Echo devices are designed to record audio only after the device detects your chosen wake word (Alexa, Amazon, Echo, Ziggy or Computer).
"You will always know when Alexa is sending your request to the cloud because a blue light indicator will appear on your Echo device. We manually review only a small fraction of one percent of Alexa requests to help improve Alexa.
"Access to these review tools is only granted to a limited number of employees who require them to improve the service.
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"Our review process does not associate voice recordings with any customer identifiable information.
So, despite these assurances, maybe keep Alexa out of the bedroom.
You never know who might be listening.
Topics: News, Technology, Amazon
Emma Marsden