According to Samsung, its speech recognition technology can also be used to better recognize regional dialects and accents and other things to enhance the user experience. With smart televisions, some information, like IP address and other stored data may be transmitted as well. Netflix also uses this tactic to encourage its customers to keep using the service. This is not much different than performing a Google search for a product only to see it later advertised on a website you visit. For example, if you recently searched for a movie featuring the actor Vince Vaughn by speaking his name, you may see suggestions for other movies starring the same actor or other films that are generally liked by other users who watch Vince Vaughn movies. It’s only when you record a show, perform a search, or interface with “on demand” services or apps that the television communicates over the Internet. Such commands allow you to turn the monitor on or off, set the volume, change stations, but these commands are not shared over the Internet. And when the television enters into listening mode, it doesn’t comprehend anything except a catalog of pre-programmed, executable commands. In fact, when the television is listening, it informs the user it is in this mode by beeping and displaying a microphone icon. In fact, such televisions are asleep most of the time, and are only awakened when they hear a pre-programmed phrase like “Hi, TV.” So, any conversation you may be having before waking the television is not captured or reported. The Internet was soon filled with clickbait headlines written to feed off the paranoia of conspiracy theorists (“The Spy in Your Living Room” “New TVs Watch You While You Watch Them”). But Caleb Denison of Digital Trends declared “this business about an army of eavesdropping TVs is flat-out irresponsible reporting, loosely rooted in ignorance and imagination.”ĭigital Trends points out that smart televisions aren’t “always listening” as they are being portrayed in the media. The company told users that spoken words, including personal and sensitive information could “be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.” Samsung’s own Smart TV privacy policy language doesn’t help matters, and perhaps fueled the conspiracy theory about their televisions. In fact, Samsung Smart TV comes equipped with a speech recognition technology, which is not so different from similar technologies used by Apple (Siri), Microsoft (Cortana) or Google, and sometimes your requests are captured and sent over the Internet, which might make you a bit nervous. “Your Samsung TV is eavesdropping on your private conversations” declared CNN Money in February. Earlier this year, the Internet was buzzing with headlines declaring that smart televisions, particularly Samsung’s Smart TV, were designed to spy on everything people say while at home.
Let’s look at the facts behind three maligned “smart” devices.ġ. While there may be some concerns about electronics that capture or share consumer data, we are far from a digital Orwellian nightmare. Spurred by conspiracy theorists, dubious YouTube videos and social media, the public is being led to think smart devices are akin to artificial intelligence spying on our personal lives. Smart devices have become the latest target in an anti-electronic backlash that has swept the nation in recent years. This article originally appeared on AlterNet.
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