Tracking or Stalking?
This week’s discussion really hit home with me, especially with regard to Alexa’s recording system, Apple’s location tracking system, and even a network driven salt dispenser. I did not know that Alexa had a system that kept a record of all inputs and responses. I found it funny to hear Sarah’s story about accessing the information inputted by her brother… I often have a similar problem with my family iCloud account. I will often get texts, while in class, from my father asking “Who is so and so, and why are they texting you during class?” “I don’t know, Dad!” If Alexa keeps a record of all correspondences, it definitely learns how to adapt to the user (start to answer questions or commands in a fairly consistent manner that the user is familiar with). I wonder, though, if Alexa keeps a record of ALL the things that were said in the vicinity of the device….. that would be creepy.
Every morning, as I got into my car to commute to school during my senior year, Apple would say to me “15 minutes to Davie.” I was always so intrigued by this, and I am glad that I now know how it works! I really am fascinated by the fact that the technology recognizes when you enter your car, and tracks your common destinations on certain days and at certain times.
This week, we also came across a salt dispenser that responds to commands inputted from one’s mobile device. I really do not see the appeal of such a product,even despite all of its bells and whistles, since dispensing salt is not an onerous task. However, I am sure that there are some people out there that have this device implemented into their home.
It was another great week in 50N. I am looking forward to our next discussion!
Jim Waldo
October 6, 2017 @ 2:59 pm
Great thoughts…
Every wave of technology has examples of things that, well, are a bit absurd. During the .com boom, there was pets.com, an on-line store for chew toys (among other things) that was absurdly valued. For the IoT, we get smart salt shakers. This, too, shall pass.
My bet is that the largest impact will be in areas that are completely unexpected. There will be attempts to improve or replace things that we already do (so your refrigerator will be able to keep a shopping list for you) that will have little or no impact, and other things that are completely different that will have huge impact (the analog of Google giving us directions and telling us how long a drive will take). The unpredictability is part of the fun (unless you are an investor).