Surveillance Robots

Nowadays there are many companies that gather personal information of millions of American citizens through Internet connected devices. These companies, knows as data brokers, sell this information to other firms, which use the data to specifically assign advertisements based on someone’s profile. For example, on your Facebook profile says you are pregnant. This information might be sold to Target, which will send you pregnancy and baby products’ coupons by e-mail or mail. Data brokers usually gather this information through phones and computers. However, Amazon has a new frightening invention that goes deeper than online information. It hears us.

The device is called Echo. It is a cylinder about the size of two coke cans and responds to the name of “Alexa”. It streams music or radio, supply sports scores and traffic conditions, buy products online, and answer questions all by the tone of your voice. So far it seems like it’s the device you always wanted to have at your house and make your life easier. This is probably what Amazon wants you to think. However, there is much more to Echo, and it is not pretty.

In addition to all Echo’s great features, it also stores all your interactivity with the robot. The songs you have played, the questions you have asked, the things you have bought are all stored in the device and sent to your phone. It is pretty cool to have all these activities stored on your phone, but the reality is that they go much further than your phone. Your personal data is uploaded to Amazon’s servers and used to manipulate you into buying more products from Amazon and possibly from companies Amazon sold your information to.

Rory Carroll states in his article “Goodbye privacy, hello 'Alexa'” his experience with the robot. According to him, much remains unclear. “Alexa streams audio ‘a fraction of a second’ before the ‘wake word’ (“Alexa”) and continues until the request has been processed, according to Amazon. So fragments of intimate conversations may be captured.” Rory Carroll continues, saying that a few days after his wife and him discussed babies, his Kindle, another Amazon device, showed an advertisement for Seventh Generation diapers, while no online research had been made on baby products. Data brokers seem to have reached a new level of surveillance. They have broken the gates of the online world and reached us in our very homes.

Consumers should be aware of not only the specifics and features of a new device, but also the possibility of surveillance. Unfortunately there are no laws available yet against this kind of surveillance. In addition, companies are smart enough to not advertise it.

Therefore, consumers must be with their eyes opened to any connection they might see between a new technology and their personal information. It is now clear that companies are investing money in order to improve surveillance and make it even more personal. Unless you want a gossiper roommate, we should not allow our homes to be filled with actuating surveillance robots.