LG Smart TVs

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

From today’s News

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MichaelG.

[Dave WoottonParticipant @davewootton]

I should be shocked and horrified, but find only a certain sympathy for the poor sod monitoring our dull little evenings!

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

🙂

[Andrew CrowParticipant @andrewcrow91475]

A bit like smart speakers, Google etc I believe it’s done to target you with specific advertising. But who knows where or who may be listening, echoes of 1984. I think George Orwell got the idea right just a bit out on the timing.

Andy

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

A lot of “smart” TV’s also report what you are watching. Not just the channel selected but also data from external sources.

Robert.

[JAParticipant @ja]

Do you use the Cloud? Microsoft implores me to back up to the Cloud. Knowledge equals power.

Think of what could be done and they, the “tech” oligarchs, are doing it.

JA

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

And ebay want me to have their phone app so they can track my movements and who knows what else.

[southernchapParticipant @southernchap]

It’s hardly a surprise.

I’d have a moan about our political choices over the past 40-odd years, light touch government as far as corporations go and all that, but governments have always been in hock to the rich and truly powerful (i.e. the capitalist class), or been mostly irrelevant (giving those capitalists as much lead as they ask for), or have found out pretty quickly when they try to challenge the capitalists, why those of us with certain views continue to refer to capital as the “boss” class.

Capitalism is a very successful meme (using that word in its original Dawkinsian sense, not the debased modern meaning) and it’s won pretty much every battle it’s had to fight, sometimes by giving up ground it can survive without; sometimes by subverting institutions the well-meaning set up to protect us proles, or at least give us a little breathing space; sometimes by using the financial systems to make it impossible for those governments who attempt to challenge capita, to govern.

So yeah, LG, Samsung, Google, Apple, MS, et al. will do what they like, and good luck to anyone thinking they’ll be regulated in any meaningful sense.

You can either try to opt out, and live an off-grid life, or, as I’ve done, say “Eh, fekk it, AI will be the boss soon enough, and all humans, boss or prole, for better or worse*, will end up being constrained by the will of AI”

 

 

 

 

 

*Iain M. Banks had an optimistic view of what a society with AI as the most powerful force, might look like. Let’s hope he had it right.

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

I don’t bother getting up any more, I just get AI to live my life and report back on how I’m doing. 😉

Martin.

[JAParticipant @ja]

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Tom’s Hardware, which is normally pretty reliable, has done an article on it, which links to the investigators Youtube video. I’ve not watched it as it’s 2 hours long

Bill

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

It would seem a very good reason not to have a “smart” TV, let alone an eavesdropper like ‘Alexa’, but if you must, is it possible to turn off the microphone until you really need ask it something important?

Biying such gadgets seems to me more or less admitting you are not worried about your or family’s privacy in the face of the American and Chinese money-men responsible for this malignant use of the Internet.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

I have a number of Google Home smart speakers in the house.  In the light of this discussion I thought I would ask Google AI if they could be used for spying on me Not that I have anything to hide, although if I called a politician on TV “bombastic” it could raise a red flag!

Google’s AI replied:

“Your Google Home speaker’s ambient listening is processed locally on the device, meaning it does not stream your continuous background conversations to the cloud. However, once the device is triggered—either intentionally or by accident—audio recordings are sent to Google’s servers, where they can potentially be reviewed by Google employees or trusted third parties. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Here is exactly how the technology works and where your data goes:

1. The “Passive” Listening Stage (Strictly Local)
To hear the wake word (“Hey Google”), the device operates in a short, local loop. It constantly records and overwrites fragments of audio locally on the device’s chip. [1, 2, 3]
No data is uploaded to the internet during this stage.
If the device does not detect “Hey Google” or “Ok Google,” that audio snippet is permanently deleted after a few seconds. [1, 2, 3]

2. The “Active” Processing Stage (Cloud Storage)
Once the speaker detects what it believes is the wake word, its status lights turn on. At this exact moment, it opens a stream and sends the audio recording to Google’s cloud servers to process your request. [1, 2, 3]

Can Google or third parties hear it?
Accidental Triggers: Smart speakers sometimes experience “false positives”—misinterpreting background noise, television dialogue, or normal conversation as the wake word. When this happens, it records and uploads the audio anyway. [1, 2, 3]
Human Reviewers: Google employees and trusted third-party subcontractors review a tiny fraction (historically around 0.2%) of these cloud-stored audio snippets to train and improve language recognition. [1, 2]
Opt-In Controls: Google is transparent that audio recordings are only saved to your Google Account if you have specifically opted into the Voice & Audio Activity (VAA) setting. If opted out, the requests are processed and then discarded rather than saved to your history. [1]

How to protect your privacy
Use the physical mute switch: Every Google Nest and Home speaker has a hardware switch or button to completely cut power to the microphone, stopping all local listening. [1]
Review and delete recordings: 
 
You can see and listen to everything your speaker has recorded by visiting Google My Activity.
Turn off audio saving: Go to your Google Account settings, find “Web & App Activity,” and ensure that “Include voice and audio recordings” is unchecked. [1, 2]”

Of course Google could be lying but you do have to weigh up the benefits vs., the dangers.  For me, as an eighty year old living alone, the biggest benefit is that if I end up lying injured on the floor I can call for help.

Russell

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for that, Russell

It’s comforting to hear that not everyone is playing the  LG game

MichaelG.

[Author]

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