this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2024
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It's convenient to ask for the weather and set a timer by a voice command.
Tech companies are selling these devices at a loss because they think people are going to buy things by a voice command. But I think mostly people just use them for setting timers and other banal purposes.
They don't actually spy on people, that would be extremely easy for anyone monitoring traffic from the device to know if it was happening. The reports about tech companies advertising things people talked about in front of a inactive home assistant device have an even more creepy explanation. These things happen because the tech companies know what you're likely considering buying because they know your purchasing history of nearly everything you've ever bought in the past.
Like that time 10 years ago that Target sent baby coupons to a man's teenage daughter before the man knew she was pregnant: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/
Yeah shit like that is why I don't use customer loyalty cards. But I guess the credit card companies are probably selling my data anyway so maybe it doesn't make a difference.
I mean I consider the data collection spying.
Omg lol I didn't even know I could purchase stuff with the google home. I wouldn't anyway because that's silly to me but that's funny if you're right about it being their intent (I don't doubt that you are). I got my google home for free or very cheap with my music streaming account.
I don't know about google home, but with Alexa they had advertisements with Alec Baldwin (before the incident) buying socks using Alexa. It probably made a lot of sense to someone like Jeff Bezos because money is nothing to him. So just saying "Alexa order me some socks" without even looking at a price makes a lot of sense to a billionaire.
But yeah... for everyone else it's just a "remind me in half an hour to check on the roast" kind of device. I think it's kinda funny they invested a lot of money into developing devices that are only slightly more convenient than setting an egg timer.
Google home is pretty good for music. You can cast YouTube or Spotify or any web page to any devices in your house. I have 5 scattered throughout my house and play music when I clean. Also controlling smart lights is pretty awesome.
Yeah I used have an Alexa and it controlled the lights... until it didn't. Enshittification, I guess.
Remotely controlling your thermostat. Swoon...