To not see the point of Alexa?

[abacucat]

Unless you are disabled, switching lights on or off is no big deal. And everything else is simply what you can do on a laptop or tablet. I don't see why you would spend money buying another gadget that doesn't do anything new.

I would also point out that all the people I know who work in IT security (and there are quite a few) refuse to have one of these in their homes

Then I will point out that a friend who runs cyber security for a large UK firm has a house full of them, as do the several other IT Security bods I know.

"I asked DP why people have them and he said it’s literally just a huge gimmick that will be obsolete in a few years."

End the thread, a man has finally spoken.

Re asking it to play random music choices, would Alexa be able to find a clip on Youtube or the internet or do you have to have Spotify, Amazon music thingy etc.

I say this as someone who only ever listens to Radio 2, but perhaps Alexa will encourage me to be more adventurous.

Can someone point this clueless idiot towards a link for Alexa - elderly parents have asked for one for Christmas, apparently they have a mini one (?) and want one with all the features. Genuinely have no idea where to start 😫

Each to their own but I find it a bit disturbing to think of a device listening to all that goes on in my home ... and I have to pay for it too. The only scenario I can imagine to have a device like that is if I lived in a newly-built 'smart home' with everything voice controlled.

I hate our Alexa. I feel so daft going ‘Alexa, turn the bedroom light on’ especially when it doesn’t work first time. My husband loves it 😥🤦‍♀️

Voice activated things never work for me. So never ever have those automated telephone things worked for me. Does it really work with a variety of accents?

Well I'm Scottish and it works fine for me.

There are a variety of Scottish accents though. Does it work for people who automated telephone systems NEVER work for? Interested to know.

Does anyone else remember reading a short story at school by E.M. Forster called "The machine stops"? Forget Orwell, this is scarily prescient.

Never mind Forster/Orwell what about that episode of The Simpsons where the voice activated house (Pierce Brosnan) fell in love with Marge and wanted to kill Homer

Op. I can't really give the answer, but I have problems with voice activated telephone systems, but not always, prob about half the time, I don't have issues with Alexa.

I think if you 100 percent slways have problems with voice activation then yes you could possibly have issues with Alexa.

Does it really work with a variety of accents?

The google home has voice recognition - it can tell it's me (rather than DH) so when I say "google find my phone" it automatically makes my phone ring on loud, not DHs. It learns so even those with severe speech impediments can use it. It's learnt my toddlers voice and he can now activate it. I would imagine Alexa is similar.

I have a friend, their house is full of "stuff" and all sorts of electronic gadgets, tv's etc.

A while ago they showed me a special plug that meant they could turn on their kettle before arriving home. They were so excited, virtually squealing. I tried to be excited for them, but was actually cringing inside. It was like watching a child open a plastic tat present. Great fun for a while, but you know it'll eventually lie broken and unused somewhere.

The whole family are an advertiser's dream. Buy every "new" thing going, are enormously wasteful and I don't think ever consider the bigger picture or the impact of their choices. They have various Alexas, think they're amazing.

The gulf between people who make this type of choice, and those on this board who worry about surveillance, privacy, control etc (I'm in the latter camp) is, I think, immense.

I studied "1984" for my "O" level and this was undoubtedly one of the most useful parts of my whole education. The whole "if you've done nothing wrong then you've nothing to hide" mentality makes me want to weep. Other people are the ones deciding what is right and wrong, not you. There's rarely 100% agreement on a MN thread - you really think everyone else thinks and acts pretty much like you ?

I think they're deliberately relatively cheap, "female" and marketed as connected to fun things like shopping, recipes, music, turning off switches, to make the technology seem benign. I don't know what's coming next, but knowing the human psyche and anything to do with wealth and power I doubt it's benign. I'm really hoping to be proved wrong.

I studied "1984" for my "O" level and this was undoubtedly one of the most useful parts of my whole education. The whole "if you've done nothing wrong then you've nothing to hide" mentality makes me want to weep. Other people are the ones deciding what is right and wrong, not you. There's rarely 100% agreement on a MN thread - you really think everyone else thinks and acts pretty much like you ?

What society deems "wrong" is already clearly laid out in our legal system which while byzantine isn't secretive or arbitrary.

Would it help if I worded it as "if you've done nothing illegal"?

And outside of governments and organised crime (and advertising algorithms in the case of google and Alexa :P) no-one has the capability to snoop on your smart speaker - I really don't know what you think would happen. Want to discuss your drug ring, unplug it. Want to plot against the state? Unplug it. Government starts changing the law so that saying trans women aren't women get's you sent to a gulag on St. Kilda - throw the damn thing away.

I really don't understand the risk you see in a normal household using one of these things in a non-repressive country.

The gulf between people who make this type of choice, and those on this board who worry about surveillance, privacy, control etc (I'm in the latter camp) is, I think, immense

I think this is true.

On one side you have people using rhe internet, computers, iPads, often with microphones, camera and video ability, social media, online banking, emails, phones, texts, sky, etc etc, but they are scared of having a smart speaker in case rhe government starts to monitor and listening to them in their own home.

On the other side, is everyone else, who really can't understand the additional risk, why rhe government would wish to listen into everyone hones, and what the heck they'd hear in your average home anyway.

I don't think the gulf can be bridged, so one side will enjoy using smart speakers and look forward to additional artificial intelligence, and the other side will stop at rhe technology they currently use.

The gulf between people who make this type of choice, and those on this board who worry about surveillance, privacy, control etc (I'm in the latter camp) is, I think, immense.

I disagree. I embrace the technology yet understand that it could be used for surveillance. Yes, I am concerned from privacy however I don't feel that concern is fully justified nor should it stop me using new technologies. My DH is works in tech and we follow news on the potential pitfalls pretty closely so I am aware of the court cases etc regarding the issues and exactly how they work. Using the technology does not mean you are unaware, or misunderstanding of the potential nefarious uses.

Want to plot against the state? Unplug it.

Well that's settled it for me. I'm never getting one because I'm always plotting against the state.

The current "debate" around whether saying trans women aren't women is transphobic and a hate crime is an excellent example. Expressing literal violence against a trans person would be a crime. Voicing an opinion that another believes might be a hate crime, in an environment where attitudes and the law are in flux/under review, could potentially land that person in trouble. This is the kind of scenario I think of when people say I have nothing to hide. Not breaking the law is, as you say, something quite separate.

I don't think at the moment that Alexa, if it works as we are told it does, is operating as an undercover agent. My concern is the drip drip effect. We've all become used to the idea of surveillance cameras, having GPS on our phones, targeted advertising. In a year or so having a device in your home listening for you to call it's name will be old hat. The next step will seem normal and inevitable.

I don't think at the moment that Alexa, if it works as we are told it does, is operating as an undercover agent

I guess like your smart phone, tablet or laptop, whycb arguably are way more advanced than a smart speaker, as they have not just the microphone, but also camera, video, microphone, and gps.

My laptop is usually switched off and my phone is kept in the kitchen when not in use. Alexa is on all the time, so it is very different.

My laptop is usually switched off and my phone is kept in the kitchen when not in use. Alexa is on all the time, so it is very different.

Most people leave their laptops on standby (the microphone could conceivably still be accessed) and their phone with them at all times.

The latest MacBook though you might be happy to know cuts the circuit to the microphone when its closed - not accessible at the hardware level.

I think some people are really over estimating the power Alexa’s hearing!

I think some people are really over estimating the power Alexa’s hearing

Amongst other things 🤣

BIL just got one, we were playing with it at a party on Saturday. More or less every thing we asked her could have been quicker to google on a phone..she did not have much of the music that was asked for (although one person did ask for 'Pirate Metal'). Could not see the point myself.

@abacucat we are all broad Yorkshire and she struggled to understand us