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This story drifted anonymously into our submission queue:

Google has confirmed that audit snippets are sent to humans to listen to which includes background noises following an investigation about Dutch audio data that had been leaked.

Google said this work helps with developing voice recognition and other technology in its Google Assistant artificial intelligence system, which is used in its Google Home smart speakers and Android smartphones.

[...] Approximately 0.2 per cent of all audio snippets are reviewed by "language experts". Google's response to the leak of private user data is to review their safeguards to prevent future misconduct.

We just learned that one of these reviewers has violated our data security policies by leaking confidential Dutch audio data. [...]

Belgium's VRT NWS also report: Google employees are eavesdropping, even in your living room, VRT NWS has discovered.

Google employees are systematically listening to audio files recorded by Google Home smart speakers and the Google Assistant smartphone app. Throughout the world – so also in Belgium and the Netherlands – people at Google listen to these audio files to improve Google's search engine. VRT NWS was able to listen to more than a thousand recordings. Most of these recordings were made consciously, but Google also listens to conversations that should never have been recorded, some of which contain sensitive information.

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