It’s reminiscent of the voice command computers in Star Trek and Hal, from Arthur C. But, after using the Echo for the past month and hearing others talk about it as CES, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s far more than that. Eventually we will have to decide if want consumer privacy to triumph, and blow the constant monitoring out of an airlock.In a previous column I mentioned the Amazon Echo ($179 on ) as a useful device for listening to music and podcasts. Still, artificial intelligence improves at a rapid pace. As long as people still have their parrots ordering food from Amazon it will be clear to the public that trusting that machine may not be such a good idea. Luckily, humanity still has time to adjust before the machines fully take over our lives on behalf of tech companies. If we re-imagine our lives with Google as the hero, well then we are the "assistant", helping Google get the data it needs to better monitor and predict your behaviour – for shareholders. After all, these pesky humans are unpredictable because they're likely to let their emotions mess up the mission. If we re-imagine 2001: A Space Odyssey with HAL as the hero, then he's quite right to kill the crew. HAL first controls the physical environment and then attempts to exert his control over the psychological one. Kubrick used 2001 to illustrate technological, physical and psychological enslavement. 'I am afraid I can't do that, Dave' - HAL But that's OK – like the 2001: A Space Odyssey crew, you probably don't understand or read them anyway. Oh, and if you believe you are protected by the terms and conditions, you are likely mistaken. So, while companies are marketing virtual assistants as your "assistant", they are in fact your "analyst". Mining big data for predictive analytics is all the rage in the business world. The commercial benefit of virtual assistants lies in their ability to predict your behaviour through what they capture, and create opportunities for transactions. So much so, that even their creators are not quite sure of their capabilities, or how they will reach their goal. Like HAL, these machines process incredible amounts of data.
It might not seem that way because virtual assistants wear the halo of trust earned by the other services they are known for – Google's search is unparalleled and Amazon's retail experience leads the global marketplace.
Consumers may be more educated about their online privacy these days, yet the consequences of the virtual world intruding into the physical hasn't properly permeated public consciousness.Īllowing a machine to record you 24/7 in exchange for convenience is a high price to pay. Likewise, although it is clear that the function of modern virtual assistants are driven by profit, it isn't obvious to the average consumer exactly how their presence is being monetised. Or that HAL's loyalty is to Mission Control and, beyond that, his programming. It doesn't occur to them that the people who designed HAL might not have had the crew's best interests at heart. The crew trust HAL, eschewing privacy for the sake of his aid in controlling the whole ship. But with cognitive capabilities well beyond those of his human companions, HAL is omnipresent – and embedded in the technology keeping the crew alive. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL is introduced to the crew of a spaceship as one of them. The film illustrates the technological ecosystem companies are really competing to own – one where we trade in our privacy for small conveniences. While tech companies push virtual assistants as integral to a better, easier life, 2001: A Space Odyssey asks: at what cost?
HAL presents us something more sinister, but perhaps more realistic. Or will she?Īmazon Alexa, Samsung Bixby, Google Assistant, Apple Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, IBM Watson and other virtual assistants are advertised as a cross between your friend, your servant, your helpful companion and sidekick. After all, Alexa may shut your lights off, but she won't turn against you and wreak havoc on your life.
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