Everyone’s doing it…
In a recent expose by Belgian publication VRT News, contractors working for Google revealed that Google Assistant takes a very familiar route to train its speech recognition abilities. One contractor even mentioned that they had been tasked to transcribe a recording where it sounded like a woman was in need of help. Apparently, the company had not given them guidance on what to do in situations like this.
Google and regulators respond
Google hasn’t taken too kindly to the release of internal recordings and processes. The company penned a response that addresses the claims made by the contractors and mentioned that only “a small set of queries” are captured and that the work is “critical” to the development of the software. Google plans to treat the reports as a “leak,” and is investigating who might have provided the recordings to news outlets. But Google isn’t the only one concerned about this news. The release of these private recordings has spurred the Irish government’s Data Protection Commission to investigate potential privacy violations on the part of Google and Google Assistant. Coincidentally, this is not the only active investigation on a tech platform that Ireland is involved in. The commissioner for data protection is currently looking into the privacy practices of multiple big names like Twitter, Apple, and of course, Facebook. If the investigation finds any significant violations, Google may have heavy fines to pay in its future — and potentially even restrictions on some of its operations. As of right now, these investigations are pending, but it’s worth remembering just how far our understanding of smart assistants has come in the last year. Not only do we know they are, in fact, listening to us, but also that it’s apparently necessary for them to do so in order to make the system work.
Can I remove these recordings from Google?
As for Google, you can find your recording history at myaccount.google.com. Here, you’ll log in and select Data & Personalization from the left sidebar. Then, select Voice & Audio Activity followed by Manage Activity. Here, you’ll be able to comb through individual audio entries and delete them at your convenience. That’s up to consumers. As for me, I think I’ll just stick with Siri on my phone, for now. She may be “dumber,” but at least she’s not snitching on me (from what we can tell). Good job, Siri. You’re safe…for now.
