Apple and Google stop workers from listening to intimate recordings of customers
5 years, 7 months ago

Apple and Google stop workers from listening to intimate recordings of customers

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Apple’s decision comes in the light of a report last week which said the company’s contractors around the globe tasked with reviewing Siri recordings regularly heard confidential encounters, including drug deals and people having sex. Siri, Apple’s iconic voice assistant, allows users to work their iPhone without using their hands, and can send messages, make calls and open multiple applications with voice commands alone. Consumers have become accustomed to calling out names for popular voice assistants, such as Amazon.com Inc’s Alexa, Google Inc’s Google Assistant, among others. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Amazon, which operates the hugely-popular Alexa assistant, is yet to make a similar commitment to Apple and Google, despite admitting in April that employees can listen to customer voice recordings from Echo and other Alexa-enabled smart speakers.

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History of this topic

Apple delays AI improvements to Siri until 2026, says voice assistant will be 'more personalised'
3 weeks, 4 days ago

Apple delays AI improvements to Siri until 2026, says voice assistant will be 'more personalised'

Firstpost  

Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered features that the company unveiled last year, includes new functionality like email rewriting and inbox summarisation Apple said on Friday that it would postpone several AI enhancements to Siri, its voice assistant, until 2026. Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered features that the company unveiled last year, includes new functionality like email rewriting and …

Meet Alexa+! Amazon introduces a more personalised, autonomous and smarter AI assistant
1 month ago

Meet Alexa+! Amazon introduces a more personalised, autonomous and smarter AI assistant

Live Mint  

Amazon has officially introduced Alexa+, the artificial intelligence -powered version of its voice assistant, marking a significant upgrade in its capabilities. The new voice assistant, announced on Wednesday, boasts advanced contextual understanding, improved smart home control, and a highly personalised experience tailored to individual users' behaviour. The AI-driven assistant can now complete a wide range of complex tasks, such as …

Perplexity debuts AI assistant on Android to challenge Alexa, ChatGPT
2 months, 1 week ago

Perplexity debuts AI assistant on Android to challenge Alexa, ChatGPT

The Hindu  

Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity launched an agent-based assistant for Android devices on Thursday as it looks to take on larger rival OpenAI's ChatGPT and incumbent assistants such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. The Nvidia and Jeff Bezos-backed company said the tool, known as Perplexity Assistant, can book dinner reservations, hail rides on apps and set reminders, among other actions. …

Perplexity launches AI assistant for Android to Take on ChatGPT, Alexa and Siri: What is it?
2 months, 1 week ago

Perplexity launches AI assistant for Android to Take on ChatGPT, Alexa and Siri: What is it?

India TV News  

Perplexity, an AI startup which Nvidia and Jeff Bezos back, has developed its new Perplexity Assistant, which is exclusively designed for Android users. This innovative tool enters the competitive AI assistant market, taking on industry leaders like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Amazon’s Alexa, and Apple’s Siri. Perplexity Assistant: An AI companion for Android users Perplexity Assistant offers a range of practical features …

Apple clarifies Siri privacy stance after $95 million class action settlement
Trending News
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Apple clarifies Siri privacy stance after $95 million class action settlement

The Hindu  

Apple clarified on Wednesday that it has never sold the data collected by its Siri voice assistant or used it to create marketing profiles, just days after settling a case in which it faced such accusations. The iPhone maker last week paid $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit in which plaintiffs alleged it routinely recorded their private conversations …

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella slams voice assistants, says Cortana, Siri and Alexa are dumb as a rock
2 years ago

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella slams voice assistants, says Cortana, Siri and Alexa are dumb as a rock

India Today  

Microsoft was making a lot of headlines a couple of days back due to its latest AI-powered product, the all new Bing chatbot. However, generative AI isn't a new concept as voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Microsoft also use AI technologies. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in an interview with Financial Times, talked about the first voice assistants-- Cortana, Alexa …

Soon You Won't Need Siri Or Alexa To Use Voice Assistant: Here's How
2 years, 3 months ago

Soon You Won't Need Siri Or Alexa To Use Voice Assistant: Here's How

News 18  

Open-source smart home platform Home Assistant will get a new voice assistant next year, that will allow users to talk to the platform’s assistant without Google, Siri or Alexa. The new assistant will allow users to control Home Assistant in their own language, Paulus Schoutsen, founder of Home Assistant, wrote in a blog post. The platform’s first priority is to …

Google Assistant Continues To Win The Voice Assistant War Against Siri And Alexa
2 years, 3 months ago

Google Assistant Continues To Win The Voice Assistant War Against Siri And Alexa

News 18  

Google has been analysing millions of users, and all this data has helped the search giant to assimilate a powerful tool in the form of Google Assistant. The voice assistant helps you navigate through different tasks and multiple languages, helping it become one of the most useful tools for smartphone users in countries like India. Google’s Assistant goes up against …

Google Assistant beats Apple Siri in voice assistant test
2 years, 3 months ago

Google Assistant beats Apple Siri in voice assistant test

The Hindu  

Google Assistant, viewed as the best voice assistant for some time now, beat Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s Bixby, and Amazon’s Alexa in a comparison test conducted by MKBHD, a popular tech YouTuber. The comparison test included voice assistants performing general tasks like setting a timer, checking the weather, interacting with apps, searching the internet, and answering follow-up questions. Google Assistant and …

Apple May Simplify 'Hey Siri' Trigger To Just 'Siri' Soon: Know Everything
2 years, 4 months ago

Apple May Simplify 'Hey Siri' Trigger To Just 'Siri' Soon: Know Everything

ABP News  

Apple is working to bring a big change to its voice assistant's phrase from Hey Siri to just Siri. Currently, users on iOS iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS have to say "Hey Siri" to launch the voice assistant, but Apple is working to change and simplify that to just "Siri", according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. By removing the “Hey” …

Google Assistant Will Soon Recognise Your Voice Thanks To Advanced Speech Recognition
2 years, 10 months ago

Google Assistant Will Soon Recognise Your Voice Thanks To Advanced Speech Recognition

News 18  

Google Assistant is widely available in the market, as you can access it through smartphones and smart speakers. Google Assistant will be able to identify your voice in the near future, as the company decides to use personalised speech recognition feature to give accurate results. As per the report by 9to5Google, Google Assistant will then be able to recognise your …

Google under new EU antitrust investigation
3 years, 6 months ago

Google under new EU antitrust investigation

The Hindu  

Alphabet Inc's Google is facing a renewed EU antitrust investigation into whether it may have forced device manufacturers to use Google Assistant as the default voice assistant on Android devices, an MLex reporter tweeted. The latest investigation comes amid concerns of potential anti-competitive practices in the race for market dominance among Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri and Google Assistant. Google is …

Google Admits Listening to 'Some User Conversations' Via Assistant: Report
3 years, 9 months ago

Google Admits Listening to 'Some User Conversations' Via Assistant: Report

News 18  

Google has reportedly told Indian Standing Committee on Information Technology that its employees listen to “some recordings of conversations” between users and its AI virtual assistant Google Assistant. Sources told India Today that the select audio clips are recorded by Google Assistant via a smartphone or smart speaker even when the user had not triggered the AI by the command …

Google, Amazon Defend Their Nest and Echo Smart Home Devices Amid Concerns Over Dominance
3 years, 9 months ago

Google, Amazon Defend Their Nest and Echo Smart Home Devices Amid Concerns Over Dominance

News 18  

US lawmakers from both parties pressed Alphabet Inc’s Google and Amazon on Tuesday about their smart speakers markets, amid concern over the domination of the tech behemoths in this area. Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, noted that Amazon had more than 50 percent of the smart speaker market while Google had 30 percent, and …

Govt working on Alexa, Google Assistant-like chatbots to deliver public services
4 years, 3 months ago

Govt working on Alexa, Google Assistant-like chatbots to deliver public services

India Today  

The Indian government could be working on platforms similar to Alexa and Google Assistant to deliver e-governance services. "The platform should be able to provide assistance with general tasks, inclu ding but not limited to availing services of government and available on the UMANG platform such as registration, login, reset the password, department service relation information, event, new launch.etc," the …

Bizarre Google Assistant bug suggests it thinks Siri is a rat
4 years, 3 months ago

Bizarre Google Assistant bug suggests it thinks Siri is a rat

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Google’s voice assistant has a peculiar bug when you ask it about rodents …

Google voice search records and keeps conversations people have around their phones – but the files can be deleted
4 years, 6 months ago

Google voice search records and keeps conversations people have around their phones – but the files can be deleted

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Google could have a record of everything you have said around it for …

EU regulators to probe Alexa, Siri and other voice assistants
4 years, 8 months ago

EU regulators to probe Alexa, Siri and other voice assistants

Live Mint  

EU competition regulators are seeking information from 400 companies to establish if there are problems in the market for voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri and other internet-connected devices that could lead to antitrust cases. Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri and Alphabet's Google Assistant are among the most popular voice assistant devices. "It sends an important message to powerful operators …

Apple, Google and Amazon to team to up to make smart home devices more compatible
5 years, 3 months ago

Apple, Google and Amazon to team to up to make smart home devices more compatible

Firstpost  

Apple, Amazon and Google will come together to make devices that are compatible with their voice assistants. Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google are partnering to lay the groundwork for better compatibility among their smart home products, the companies said on Wednesday. The rare partnership comes against the backdrop of an intensified competition among global technology companies to …

Alexa, Google Home and Siri can be hacked with lasers, researchers find
5 years, 4 months ago

Alexa, Google Home and Siri can be hacked with lasers, researchers find

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Since voice-controlled digital assistants were introduced a few years ago, security experts have …

Alexa, Google Assistant-powered smart speakers could be used to trick you into divulging personal info
5 years, 5 months ago

Alexa, Google Assistant-powered smart speakers could be used to trick you into divulging personal info

Firstpost  

Too many privacy issues regarding voice assistants have come to light in the past few months. As per a new report by ZDnet, it was revealed that smart speakers that come with Alexa and Google assistant support have a loophole which attackers can use to their advantage. The report revealed that by using specific code at different locations inside the …

New Amazon initiative aims to offer Alexa and Cortana on a single device
5 years, 6 months ago

New Amazon initiative aims to offer Alexa and Cortana on a single device

Firstpost  

Microsoft and Amazon previously announced that their voice assistants will be able to talk to each other. Amazon.com has launched an initiative that would allow users to access its Alexa, Microsoft Corp’s Cortana, and multiple other voice-controlled virtual assistant services from a single device. The move comes as competition has intensified among global technology companies to dominate the market for …

AI-powered Siri, Cortana, Alexa and other virtual assistants have a gender bias problem
5 years, 6 months ago

AI-powered Siri, Cortana, Alexa and other virtual assistants have a gender bias problem

Firstpost  

As research has shown, there is a critical link between the development of AI systems which display gender bias and the lack of women in teams that design them. Suggest to Samsung’s Virtual Personal Assistant Bixby “Let’s talk dirty”, and the female voice will respond with a honeyed accent: “I don’t want to end up on Santa’s naughty list.” Ask …

Google changes privacy settings for users voice recordings
5 years, 6 months ago

Google changes privacy settings for users voice recordings

The Hindu  

Facing the flak for letting contractors record and listen users’ conversations via Google Assistant, the tech giant has announced to make some key changes in the way it records and reviews voice recordings. “If you’re an existing Assistant user, you’ll have the option to review your VAA setting and confirm your preference before any human review process resumes,” said Google. …

Google to now stop listening on your conversations with its voice assistant
5 years, 6 months ago

Google to now stop listening on your conversations with its voice assistant

Firstpost  

It was recently revealed that several tech companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon transcribe small portions of your conversation with their respective voice assistants. Google says in its blog that you can opt into the Voice & Audio Activity setting when you set up your Assistant if you wish to store your audio data. Google is also going to …

Google Tightens Its Voice Assistant Rules Amid Privacy Backlash
5 years, 6 months ago

Google Tightens Its Voice Assistant Rules Amid Privacy Backlash

Wired  

After months of revelations that smart speakers get a very human intelligence boost from contractors who transcribe and review customer audio snippets, the mea culpas are flowing in. "Recently we’ve heard concerns about our process in which language experts can listen to and transcribe audio data from the Google Assistant to help improve speech technology for different languages. In addition …

Apple apologizes for use of contractors to eavesdrop on Siri
5 years, 7 months ago

Apple apologizes for use of contractors to eavesdrop on Siri

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is apologizing for allowing outsiders to listen to snippets of people’s recorded conversations with its digital assistant Siri, a practice that undermined its attempts to position itself as a trusted steward of privacy. As part of the apology posted Wednesday, Apple reiterated an earlier pledge to stop keeping audio recorded through Siri unless consumers give their …

Apple apologizes for Siri privacy issue and quits keeping audio recordings
5 years, 7 months ago

Apple apologizes for Siri privacy issue and quits keeping audio recordings

LA Times  

Apple Inc. apologized Wednesday for privacy mishaps surrounding its Siri voice assistant and said it would no longer retain audio recordings of Siri interactions, among other changes. Apple had hundreds of contractors listening to recordings of Siri users in a process called “grading,” but the company suspended the program a few weeks ago after some consumers raised concerns. “We know …

After Siri's privacy concerns, Amazon adds option to disable review of Alexa's recordings
5 years, 7 months ago

After Siri's privacy concerns, Amazon adds option to disable review of Alexa's recordings

Firstpost  

Amazon now allows to remove their recordings through an option in the settings menu in the app. After Apple and Google, Amazon has reportedly added the option for users to choose if they want their conversations with Alexa to be reviewed by humans for quality control. Earlier this week, Apple temporarily disabled its Siri grading program, which allowed its contractors …

Apple, Google pause reviewing audio recordings from voice assistants
5 years, 7 months ago

Apple, Google pause reviewing audio recordings from voice assistants

Firstpost  

Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have globally suspended reviewing recordings from users interacting with their voice assistants, as concerns over data privacy mount. Apple said on Friday it had paused the programme called “grading”, where it reviewed anonymized recordings of conversations people had with its Siri voice assistant. Increased public and political scrutiny of data privacy practices have forced …

Google and Apple stopped snooping on users conversations
5 years, 7 months ago

Google and Apple stopped snooping on users conversations

India TV News  

After facing flak, tech giants Google and Apple have now stopped snooping on users' conversations. While Apple has suspended the programme that let its virtual assistant Siri listen to users' recordings for "quality control", Google has stopped listening and transcribing Google Assistant recordings in Europe. Also, read: OnePlus surpasses Samsung and Apple in Indian premium segment Belgian broadcaster VRT NWS …

Dutch Siri recordings are being listened to by Apple contractors: Nu.nl
5 years, 8 months ago

Dutch Siri recordings are being listened to by Apple contractors: Nu.nl

Dutch News  

People contracted to work for Apple were listening in to Dutch language conversations recorded via the company’s digital assistant Siri, website Nu.nl said on Friday. Last week the Guardian revealed that Apple contractors regularly hear confidential medical information, drug deals, and recordings of couples having sex, as part of their job to provide quality control and improve Siri’s services. The …

Apple promises to stop listening in on Dutch Siri conversations
5 years, 8 months ago

Apple promises to stop listening in on Dutch Siri conversations

NL Times  

Employees of a company hired by Apple are listening to conversations Dutch have with Siri, without Apple explicitly informing its users that the things they say to Siri may be heard by others, NU.nl reports based on statements from a whistleblower and documents in the newspaper's possession. But there are also cases where employees heard unintended recordings - fragments of …

Apple suspends listening to Siri queries amid privacy outcry
5 years, 8 months ago

Apple suspends listening to Siri queries amid privacy outcry

LA Times  

Apple Inc. said Thursday that it is suspending its global internal program for “grading” a portion of user Siri commands after some consumers raised concerns about the program. Concerns over technology companies listening to and analyzing what is spoken to voice assistants started to be raised after Bloomberg News first reported that Amazon.com Inc. and Apple had teams analyzing recordings …

Google halts Assistant speech data transcription in EU
5 years, 8 months ago

Google halts Assistant speech data transcription in EU

Associated Press  

BERLIN — Google has given reassurances that it won’t make transcripts of speech data picked up by its Google Assistant system in the European Union for at least the next three months, a German data-protection authority said Thursday. Caspar’s office said in a statement that Google told the Hamburg authority that transcripts of speech recordings are already suspended and won’t …

Apple admits its contractors regularly listen to small parts of Siri's voice recordings
5 years, 8 months ago

Apple admits its contractors regularly listen to small parts of Siri's voice recordings

India Today  

Apple has confirmed that a small part of users' conversations with its virtual assistant - Siri -- are reviewed by external contractors. Siri responses are analysed in secure facilities and all reviewers are under the obligation to adhere to Apple's strict confidentiality requirements," the company said in a statement to The Guardian adding that the analysed responses consists a very …

Google listens to your confidential conversations: Reasons why big techs can't be trusted
5 years, 8 months ago

Google listens to your confidential conversations: Reasons why big techs can't be trusted

India TV News  

Google has admitted that the company employees listen to private recordings for customer via Google Assistant, where they are able to access conversations that are not meant to be recorded. Also, read: Toreto BOLT wireless earphones launched in India Google is listening Every time user access Google Assistant via Google Home or a smartphone, the interactions get recorded, which potentially …

Google contractors are listening to your conversations with Google Assistant
5 years, 8 months ago

Google contractors are listening to your conversations with Google Assistant

Firstpost  

Google says contractors listen to recordings to better understand language patterns and accents. Google contractors regularly listen to and review some recordings of what people say to artificial-intelligence system Google Assistant, via their phone or through smart speakers such as the Google Home. Its user terms confirm recordings may be used by the company, stating Assistant “records your voice and …

Will take action on those listening to your conversations: Google
5 years, 8 months ago

Will take action on those listening to your conversations: Google

India TV News  

After facing widespread criticism for eavesdropping on users' conversations via its Assistant to improve speech recognition technology, Google said that it was conducting a full review of its safeguards in this space and would take action against third-party contractors involved in this incident. Also, read:Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro up on "Alpha Sale" today The reaction came after reports …

Human workers can listen to Google Assistant recordings
5 years, 8 months ago

Human workers can listen to Google Assistant recordings

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — Google contractors regularly listen to and review some recordings of what people say to artificial-intelligence system Google Assistant, via their phone or through smart speakers such as the Google Home. Its user terms confirm recordings may be used by the company, stating Assistant “records your voice and audio on Google services to improve speech recognition.” Monsees wrote …

Google defends its stand of letting its employees listen to your conversations with Google Assistant
5 years, 8 months ago

Google defends its stand of letting its employees listen to your conversations with Google Assistant

India Today  

Google has defended its stand of letting its employees -- most of which are contractual workers employed by the company across the globe - listen to the conversations between users and the Google Assistant saying that the language experts employed by the company review only a small fraction of the audio snippets recorded by the Google Assistant and that it …

Google admits workers listen to private audio recordings from Google Home smart speakers
5 years, 8 months ago

Google admits workers listen to private audio recordings from Google Home smart speakers

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Google employees listen to customers’ audio recordings on Google Home smart speakers, the …

Amazon Alexa and Siri accused of sexism for 'thanking users for sexual harassment'
5 years, 10 months ago

Amazon Alexa and Siri accused of sexism for 'thanking users for sexual harassment'

The Independent  

Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The report also notes that when Amazon’s Alexa is told, “You’re a slut,” the voice assistant …

Sonos: Google Assistant finally arrives on smart speakers after long wait
5 years, 10 months ago

Sonos: Google Assistant finally arrives on smart speakers after long wait

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Google Assistant has finally come to Sonos smart speakers, a year and …

Google I/O 2019: Inching closer to replacing touch interactions with your voice
5 years, 10 months ago

Google I/O 2019: Inching closer to replacing touch interactions with your voice

Firstpost  

I’m sure we’ve all envied characters from sci-fi flicks who have a virtual assistant to do things for them. Thanks to this, Google Assistant will soon be able to compute all your queries locally itself instead of going back and forth between your phone and Google’s servers. This next-gen assistant will let you instantly operate your phone with your voice, …

Google May Have Finally Made a Truly Usable Voice Assistant
55 years, 3 months ago

Google May Have Finally Made a Truly Usable Voice Assistant

Wired  

Millions of people routinely say “hey” to voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, even though the experience can be frustratingly glitchy. On Tuesday, Google previewed new technology that makes speech recognition strikingly more responsive, suggesting voice control could soon be seamless enough to be irresistible. CEO Sundar Pichai called that a “milestone” because it means software that traditionally lives in …

Google's next-gen voice assistant is kinda epic, and it's coming to the Pixel 4 this year
5 years, 10 months ago

Google's next-gen voice assistant is kinda epic, and it's coming to the Pixel 4 this year

Firstpost  

That killer feature that will rid you of your screen habit? The most fascinating feature unveiled at Google IO, Google’s annual developer conference, was a Google Assistant feature called ‘Continued Conversations.’ If you’ve used a voice assistant of any sort, be it Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri or even Samsung’s still-in-beta Bixby, you’re aware that the interaction is not fun. Partnering …

Google I/O 2019: Google demos rental car bookings using the voice assistant
5 years, 10 months ago

Google I/O 2019: Google demos rental car bookings using the voice assistant

Firstpost  

Google also unveiled AR tech that lets users to view renderings of some specialized visual search results. Alphabet Inc’s Google business on Tuesday offered a preview of voice technology that lets users make rental car bookings for upcoming trips with just a simple ask of the company’s virtual assistant tool. The capability, which Google demonstrated with National Car Rental’s website, …

Google AI keeps pushing boundaries of what artificial intelligence can accomplish
5 years, 10 months ago

Google AI keeps pushing boundaries of what artificial intelligence can accomplish

Firstpost  

When Google launched its now distinctive digital assistant in 2016, it was already in danger of being an also-ran. Now the Google Assistant — known primarily as the voice of the Google Home smart speaker — is increasingly central to Google’s new products. Duplex isn’t yet widely available yet outside of Google’s own Pixel phones in the U.S. Alexa and …

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