Submitted via IRC for fyngyrz
Amazon and Google, the leading sellers of such devices, say the assistants record and process audio only after users trigger them by pushing a button or uttering a phrase like "Hey, Alexa" or "O.K., Google." But each company has filed patent applications, many of them still under consideration, that outline an array of possibilities for how devices like these could monitor more of what users say and do. That information could then be used to identify a person's desires or interests, which could be mined for ads and product recommendations.
For many, this could change the landscape as to whether these devices are acceptable. It may also open the door wider for open-source, less invasive devices such as Mycroft.
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Monday April 02 2018, @01:15AM
FFS, it's not that simple. It's open source. You can change the STT engine yourself. Their community is well aware that this is desirable. [openstt.org] You want STT to not be on some BigCorp, Inc.'s servers? This is the way to go.
Or, you know, you could just bitch endlessly and not contribute. I'm sure that'll move us forward.