Your Privacy when AI Goes Wrong

4 minute read

Every year around Christmas technology enters our homes from mobiles, tablet, computers and now smart technology. Utilising AI (aka Artificial Intelligence) means we have the ability to get more out of this technology from our fingertips as well as our voice.

Recent technology entering our homes is from Google and Amazon. Google have a range of smart speakers (Home and Home Mini) whilst Amazon brings their speaker (Echo and Echo Dot). Both are fantastic devices.

Here is a preview of the Google Home.



Here is a preview of the Amazon Echo Dot.



What can I do?
-You can search the internet for answers to your questions without getting out your mobile phone or computer.
-You can purchase items with a few requests.
-You can listen to music from the internet.
-You can control smart technology from lights, garages, televisions, thermostats and your kettle.

For example you may wish to set an alarm for 07:30 in the morning, then have the kettle heat up the water 07:40 for a cup of tea. Then have your television on at 07:45 to watch television or listen to music before you leave for work at 08:00.

When AI goes wrong
Going back to the title of the post about privacy. In our example I set up an Google Home with voice recognition. I asked my brother to ask Google some questions and found that the smart speaker couldn't differentiate between us. This meant that my brother could access my appointments, make purchases and so on.

I decided to test this with other people and found, the Google Home detected a child against an adult which passed. Then against a parent and passed. So initial thoughts were that brothers are alike even though our voices are different. Then we found an interesting scenario.

I got 2 people of similar age both female from the same country but from different families and far apart in upbringing. My results were that Google Home failed. It thought they were the same person.

My thoughts of smart technology
The technology behind the product is great. You can save time carry out tasks like finding out opening hours of shops, distances of locations, time zones, currency checks, weather and so on. Children can even play music from the device to help them pass time as well as help with homework. The set up of your voice should be extended further so it can tell the difference between people better.

For children, voice search is great. My son could ask to watch a cartoon (this was before he could read and write) as well as listen to music or find out when his favourite shop is open and give us the results.

If you would like help setting up your new tech, smart tech or traditional technology, please speak to a member of our team on 01489 290 001. You can also drop us an email.

This post was brought to you by Baldeep on 22 Dec 2018.

Small businesses are often left behind by IT companies as the aim is to work with the larger businesses. Baldeep started the company knowing that IT doesn't have to be your frustration. Provide great solutions at small business budgets is helping companies in Hampshire to focus on their goals without the burden of IT overheads or downtime.

Baldeep continued developing his skillset and has multiple accreditations to his name including his degree, Microsoft Certifications, ITIL and VMware Data Center Virtualization Certification. He is always learning to move IT forward for your business.

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