View Full Version : Just unplugged Alexa
She's been pissing me off for a long time, and only getting worse (not better, as you would think.)
Her skills are limited, her voice recognition sucks, and she is basically a dumb bot, sitting and recording everything she can.
I'm going to replace her with sensors, and code that actually help me in my day to day life.
For the last time, Fuck you, Alexa!
-John
JohnnyDrama
11-13-2019, 21:37
Like
It's an Artificial Intelligence (AI) being developed by Amazon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Alexa
-John
I threw one away I was given. Didn’t even think about using it and I’m an IT guy.
so basically, yeah I agree... F you Alexa. Ain’t interested.
If she?s as useless as Siri then she can pound sand.
theGinsue
11-13-2019, 22:19
I threw one away I was given. Didn’t even think about using it because I’m an IT guy.
so basically, yeah I agree... F you Alexa. Ain’t interested.
FIFY
I'm a 30+ year IT and Cyber Security guy. Because of this, Alexa, Siri, Cortana, etc:
59FhF2OVPX0
crashdown
11-13-2019, 22:42
Kinda on topic....
I bought a 4 wheeler from a guy yesterday. He listed it on Craigslist and put his number in the ad. I texted him for a few days while we ironed out a deal. Yesterday I drove to his house and paid him cash. About 5 minutes after I handed him cash, and we were filling out the bill of sale, Facebook sent him a message that said it looks like he sold his 4 wheeler. It came from FB marketplace, so I assume he had listed it there, but we were both lost on how FB would have known anything about our deal, especially since I do not use FB, and no part of the deal was done through FB.
Today I text my wife to turn the heat on when she got home. When she pulled up in the drive, Siri sent her a text reminding her to turn on the heat.
This shit is getting very skynet.
theGinsue
11-13-2019, 22:49
At the risk of sounding like BushMasterBoy: All of our devices are watching and listening.
GilpinGuy
11-14-2019, 00:52
Yeah, my wife is getting annoyed at all of the midget clown porn ads she gets because of my searches. Damn....
Great-Kazoo
11-14-2019, 01:42
At the risk of sounding like BushMasterBoy: All of our devices are watching and listening.
If you THINK, they're out to get you
You're not paranoid enough.
If you THINK, they're out to get you
You're not paranoid enough.
You are only paranoid enough, if you consider living in a Faraday cage is reasonable.
My wife bought me something similar to an Alexa once for Xmas. I refused to take it out of the box, told her to get rid of it. She was all butthurt, but I told her I was serious - either get a refund or give it to a girlfriend, or I'd take the fucking thing out and shoot it!
Never saw it again.
hollohas
11-14-2019, 06:47
Your cell phones are listening too you all the time too. IMO, they're even more dangerous for our privacy then an Echo ever will be. Our phones spend A LOT more time right next to us than a Echo does.
Your phone knows how fast you're driving and where you are at ALL times.
Your phone hears all your conversations.
All your texts, emails, messages, etc all go to a server somewhere where they are analyzed.
It knows how many steps you take each day.
It probably knows your heart rate. And many people tell it their blood pressure, calorie consumption, mood, etc.
It know what hobbies you have. How much money is in your bank account. What websites you visit. What smart devices you have. Who visits your front door.
It probably knows all about what auto insurance you have. And for many people, what health insurance too. And what claims they've had.
If there's an app for that, your phone... and 'they'...know your business.
An Echo is rookie compared to a smart phone.
hollohas
11-14-2019, 06:59
Oh, and PS. Amazon Web Services provides cloud storage for many government agencies. Amazon. Your data and the government's all in the same place. How efficient!
We should all be glad Amazon didn't get the larger $10B contract to be the main federal cloud computing provider.
StagLefty
11-14-2019, 08:27
Maybe it's because I'm retired and home more than most of you but I enjoy the conveniences of the Echo's. As far as a cell phone I have a $20 one that stays in the truck for emergencies and has over 1K of minutes haha
colorider
11-14-2019, 09:33
I have no idea why anyone would want a device like that.
StagLefty
11-14-2019, 11:30
I have no idea why anyone would want a device like that.
If you listen to radio a lot like I do,it's great to save time changing stations. I know that sounds lazy but I can change the stations while I'm carving or doing other things.
When I was going through my spinal surgery ordeal, it became pretty much impossible to turn off my bedside table lamp when I went to bed. Having an Echo Dot and a switch gave me the ability to turn the light off with an "Alexa, light off."
If you have some form of mobility/disability issue, having the automation can improve your quality of life. There are 2 sides to this.
My dad is disabled and also loves radio. He got turned onto Prime video and we got him a Fire HD tablet and I later gave him a Fire TV stick. He was loving all of the content he had access to. He decided to get a new Echo Dot and an 83 year old non-techie was able to get it setup. He now has access to more radio content than he's ever had in his life.
I think my Macbook Pro was listening to everything going on around me. I would search for something that was just on TV or in a discussion with the wife with "What is" and the next word was amazingly precise about what was going on. Since I replaced the Macbook Pro with another Windows laptop, that doesn't happen anymore.
BushMasterBoy
11-14-2019, 11:36
At the risk of sounding like BushMasterBoy: All of our devices are watching and listening.
Can I change my name to "Big Brother". I am too famous here now. I need to be in the witless protection program.
http://i.imgur.com/ZtacKhz.jpg
FIFY
I'm a 30+ year IT and Cyber Security guy. Because of this, Alexa, Siri, Cortana, etc:
59FhF2OVPX0
What about the phone in your pocket?
Or the guy next to you?
I think my Macbook Pro was listening to everything going on around me. I would search for something that was just on TV or in a discussion with the wife with "What is" and the next word was amazingly precise about what was going on. Since I replaced the Macbook Pro with another Windows laptop, that doesn't happen anymore.
Cell phones are the worst (best?) about this.
We can be having a conversation about some really obscure subject and if we decide to google something about that subject you can just barely start typing and it?s at the top of the list of suggestions. Kind of convenient but kind of creepy too.
FYI, you can go into your Alexa/Amazon app and disable human review of any recordings Alexa/Amazon makes. Pretty simple actually. Not sure what all the fuss is about regarding privacy.
We use ours extensively for controlling smart home devices and asking questions and what not. Anything that isn't set up to automatically work can be controlled via our voice. It's great and the wife who normally isn't as receptive to tech also has come to love using them on a regular basis.
FYI, you can go into your Alexa/Amazon app and disable human review of any recordings Alexa/Amazon makes. Pretty simple actually. Not sure what all the fuss is about regarding privacy.
We use ours extensively for controlling smart home devices and asking questions and what not. Anything that isn't set up to automatically work can be controlled via our voice. It's great and the wife who normally isn't as receptive to tech also has come to love using them on a regular basis.
Well... IIRC CALEO 1994/1996 requires telecom providers to install surveillance equipment. So, unless you are VPN chaining, I doubt the NSA cares about privacy settings. And yeah, I'm aware of HTTPS. I'm also 99% sure the NSA has a backdoor to HTTPS. The prior backdoor was already discovered and patched after what, a decade?
Also to, ETA, the human review isn't the problem. It's the "big data" warehousing and AI processing that results in a high potential for things you've casually said being archived for... forever. The last thing I'm worried about is a guy on headphones chuckling and saying "heh, he made a small wiener joke".
Aloha_Shooter
11-15-2019, 01:50
FIFY
I'm a 30+ year IT and Cyber Security guy. Because of this, Alexa, Siri, Cortana, etc:
59FhF2OVPX0
This. I try not to buy anything that listens to me. If I want it anyway for other reasons, I deactivate the listening mode (but do you really know it's deactivated?). I consider Facebook, Google, and Amazon to be the most evil corporate entities on the planet (note, I said corporate ... Hillary is still #1 overall).
I try not to buy anything that listens to me.
I?ve been married long enough that I just want someone to listen to me when I speak.
Aloha_Shooter
11-15-2019, 08:19
I?ve been married long enough that I just want someone to listen to me when I speak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxUuDPNbkJk
hollohas
11-15-2019, 19:17
I like have echo's, all privacy issues aside. Mostly for music and smart home stuff.
My little kids use them to check the weather every morning so they can decide what to wear. They also use them to play music.
The one by my bed announces if any of the doors or windows are opened or if there is motion outside the house in the middle of the night.
Turn lights on or off. Temp up or down. Start the truck.
I'm not going to lie, I like feeling like I'm actually living in the future that sci-fi told us we would. But I'm not looking forward to skynet going wild. That's going to suck.
Alexa has gotten worse and worse for me. I have no trust in her.
I'm better off with dumb sensors that just react to an input.
-John
I?ve been married long enough that I just want someone to listen to me when I speak.
OK, that was funny. I laughed at that one and had to share with the wife.
...and she laughed too.
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