OK I'm almost excited, (ooh what at? The sarcastic monotone narrator's voice mumbles) I now have an Echo Dot.
So, apart from the initial setup, everything works reasonably well and the limitations that are imposed on the interactions are mainly focused on why it would be a good idea to subscribe to amazon prime, and the inevitable quality (or lack thereof) of my internet connection.
So saying, the purpose of this sojourn into manually entering anything on the keyboard is that Alexa (AKA Skynet) is listening, somewhere there is a log of my voice antics (multiple expletives when I trip over the cat) and a profile that includes my musical tastes, shopping habits and probably my dietary habits too (Alexa knows that you are eating biscuits), there could even be a log of how many times I break wind ("Do you want me to put charcoal tablets on your shopping list?").
Amazon, Google and Apple all initially denied this, but they have admitted to collating data, and that I don't mind, if them collating data makes my existence a little more palatable then so be it, and the data that my mobile phone gives out is more interesting in any case, domestic data is pretty uninspiring, but it is useful in the realms of market research and focused advertising (although you might find it a little intrusive).
The point is, I'm aware of this happening, many are not, they don't think that buying a device and using it, plugs you in to all of the back story, (this is demonstrated by the facebook collections of people posting inappropriate comments that come back to bite them).
So what do you want to do? Be a rebel go off grid and give up your Facebook account? (Please remember that this would also mean that you would have to give up your mobile phone (you can be located to within 20m from your mobile signal) your bank cards (using them can locate your whereabouts and timestamp the usage) avoid all public places with CCTV (facial recognition is getting more accurate) and of course give up working for a living or claiming anything from the government (These will give a "Modus Operandi" to anyone that is interested).
So, no, you're knackered, if you want to disappear, there's probably no reason to, and realistically no means to do so.
Does that make me feel aggrieved? Not really, I'm not on the run from anyone (and don't intend to be) so it doesn't really affect me.
Does it change my perspective? Only that I get a bit miffed that I do a search for something and lo and behold there's an advert on facebook that some of my friends seem to be looking for a similar related item (Hang on, I wasn't on facebook when I was looking, I was googling, now that is disconcerting).
So do I stay in the here and now, accepting that, for the remainder of my life, my shopping will be scrutinised in a way that could be made available for other reasons?
How could the information be used to harm me?
Or are we just glibly cruising toward a future that means that everyone's epitaph will include their favourite biscuits and preferred cat food?
So, apart from the initial setup, everything works reasonably well and the limitations that are imposed on the interactions are mainly focused on why it would be a good idea to subscribe to amazon prime, and the inevitable quality (or lack thereof) of my internet connection.
So saying, the purpose of this sojourn into manually entering anything on the keyboard is that Alexa (AKA Skynet) is listening, somewhere there is a log of my voice antics (multiple expletives when I trip over the cat) and a profile that includes my musical tastes, shopping habits and probably my dietary habits too (Alexa knows that you are eating biscuits), there could even be a log of how many times I break wind ("Do you want me to put charcoal tablets on your shopping list?").
Amazon, Google and Apple all initially denied this, but they have admitted to collating data, and that I don't mind, if them collating data makes my existence a little more palatable then so be it, and the data that my mobile phone gives out is more interesting in any case, domestic data is pretty uninspiring, but it is useful in the realms of market research and focused advertising (although you might find it a little intrusive).
The point is, I'm aware of this happening, many are not, they don't think that buying a device and using it, plugs you in to all of the back story, (this is demonstrated by the facebook collections of people posting inappropriate comments that come back to bite them).
So what do you want to do? Be a rebel go off grid and give up your Facebook account? (Please remember that this would also mean that you would have to give up your mobile phone (you can be located to within 20m from your mobile signal) your bank cards (using them can locate your whereabouts and timestamp the usage) avoid all public places with CCTV (facial recognition is getting more accurate) and of course give up working for a living or claiming anything from the government (These will give a "Modus Operandi" to anyone that is interested).
So, no, you're knackered, if you want to disappear, there's probably no reason to, and realistically no means to do so.
Does that make me feel aggrieved? Not really, I'm not on the run from anyone (and don't intend to be) so it doesn't really affect me.
Does it change my perspective? Only that I get a bit miffed that I do a search for something and lo and behold there's an advert on facebook that some of my friends seem to be looking for a similar related item (Hang on, I wasn't on facebook when I was looking, I was googling, now that is disconcerting).
So do I stay in the here and now, accepting that, for the remainder of my life, my shopping will be scrutinised in a way that could be made available for other reasons?
How could the information be used to harm me?
Or are we just glibly cruising toward a future that means that everyone's epitaph will include their favourite biscuits and preferred cat food?
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