Can we trust a smart speaker? Listen to 6 Minute English - YouTube
Dan: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute
English. I'm Dan.
Rob: And I'm Rob. So Dan what's...
Oh, sorry. Oh, it's my wife. Err... hang on...
Dan: You didn't answer!
Rob: Don't take this personally, Dan,
but I'm not exactly crazy about
someone eavesdropping
on my phone call. If you eavesdrop on
something, you secretly listen to
someone's conversation.
Some things are private, you know?
Dan: Oh! Of course! I totally understand.
One quick question for you though - do
you have a smart speaker? You know,
like the Google Assistant, Amazon's
Alexa or Apple's Siri.
Rob: Oh sure, yes, I've got one! It's great!
I can ask it all sorts of questions, it tells
me about the news and weather,
it plays music when I want...
it does all sorts! You just
give it a voice command and
it does what you want!
Dan: So it can hear you, can it?
Rob: Of course! How else can you give
it a voice command?
Dan: All the time?
Rob: Well, I assume so.
Dan: So how do you know
it's not eavesdropping on you?
Rob: Well, I... oh... I see.
I hadn't thought of that.
Dan: That's our topic for this 6 Minute
English. How safe is your
smart speaker? However, before
that, here's our quiz question.
By what percentage has the number of
smart speakers used in US
households increased from
December 2017 to December 2018? Is it...
a) around 40%, b) around 60%,
or c) around 80%?
Rob: Oh, well, I know they are very popular
even in my household. So I'm going to go
for c) around 80%.
Dan: Well, we'll find out if you're right later
in the programme.
So, smart speakers and privacy!
Florian Schaub is an assistant professor
at the University of Michigan
School of Information.
Here he is speaking on the BBC World
Service programme The Why Factor
about smart speakers.
What does he say people are introducing
into their homes?
Florian Schaub: You're basically
introducing... listening bug in
your home, in your most
intimate space. While the companies say
they are only actively listening
to what's going on in your home
when they hear the keyword,
the microphone is still on the whole time
in order to be able to detect that keyword.
We don't know to what extent companies
are co-operating with the government
or to what extent the government
might try to circumvent
company security mechanisms in order
to then be able to listen
to what you're doing.
Dan: So what did he say people
are introducing, Rob?
Rob: He basically said we're introducing
a listening bug. Now, a bug is
a small electronic
device used for secretly listening to
conversations. Much like
a spy would use.
Dan: Yes, and he mentioned it was
in our most intimate space!
Intimate means 'private and personal'.
Rob: Well, I can't think of anywhere more
intimate than my home.
Dan: Indeed! He also said that
the smart speaker's microphone
is on the whole time - even though
the companies insist that they're only
actively listening when
the keyword is said.
Rob: Yes, he suggested that we can't
know how far a company might be
co-operating with
a government to eavesdrop on people.
Dan: Or whether a government
might be circumventing a smart speaker's
security and listening in
anyway without the company's
or owner's permission!
Rob: Circumvent means 'cleverly
bypass or go around'. So if all
this eavesdropping is possible,
why are smart speakers so popular?
Dan: Good question! And here's Florian
Schaub again with an answer.
He conducted a study on people's
attitudes to privacy when
it came to smart speakers.
How do people feel about having a smart
speaker that could
eavesdrop on them?
Florian Schaub: What we often saw
is people just being resigned
to 'this is the trade-off
they have to make' if they want
to enjoy the convenience that a smart
speaker provides to them.
Rob: He said that people are resigned to
the privacy trade-off. If you are resigned
to something, you accept something
unpleasant that can't be changed.
Dan: Yes and a trade-off is a compromise.
You accept something bad
to also receive something good.
Rob: So people accept that a smart
speaker gives them advantages,
even though there could
be downsides?
Dan: Yes. In the grand scheme of things,
the data that these devices hear
is probably not that significant
considering all the data companies have
about us already anyway!
Rob: So can I have the answer
to the quiz then?
Dan: Of course! Earlier I asked by what
percentage the number of smart speakers
used in US households
increased from December 2017
to December 2018? Was it...
a) around 40%, b) around 60%, or
c) around 80%? What did you say, Rob?
Rob: I said c) around 80%.
Dan: And you are right. The answer is
around 80% - from 66 million
in December 2017 to
118 million in December 2018,
and around ten million people in the UK
now use one too!
I guess they're not worried
about eavesdropping.
Rob: Nice slide into the vocabulary there,
Dan. If someone eavesdrops
on you, it means they
secretly listen to your conversation.
Dan: They could be eavesdropping on
you through a bug, which is a small
electronic device
used to secretly listen to conversations.
Rob: Yes, they may have bugged your
most intimate, or private
and personal, spaces.
Dan: Next we had circumvent. If you
circumvent something, such as
security, you cleverly
or bypass it or go around it.
Rob: Then we had resigned. If you are
resigned to something, it means you
accept something
unpleasant that can't be changed.
Dan: And lastly, we had trade-off.
A trade-off is a compromise.
You get something good, but
you also get something bad.
Rob: Right - like 6 Minute English! A great
discussion and vocabulary,
but the trade-off
is it only lasts six minutes!
Dan: Which is just about now, actually
- time to go. So until next time,
find us all over
the place online and on social media.
Just search for BBC Learning English.
Bye for now.
Rob: Goodbye!
