Listening Devices are all Ears

Listening devices have become an accessible and inexpensive item that helps with daily tasks.  Listening devices such as the Amazon Alexa and Google Cast are hands free devices that work with a simple que word.  Shouting the word “Alexa” or “Hey Google” launches you into a world of information with just a simple voice activation.  Some people would see at home listening devices as a score but most don’t know the consequences of these devices.  These listening devices record you and collect data that most people aren’t aware of.  But some see these listening devices a thing of the future with tremendous advancements in technology.  The projected path of America with the rise to intelligent technology is full government monitoring with the government just taking advantage of the citizens.  With technology the government will take civilian serverailance to the next level with these listening devices with the driving force of wanting to maintain control over the people.  Listening devices are a way to monitor and listen to the people but with a sleek cover as an advancement of technology to benefit the people's daily life.

The demand for at home listening devices has rapidly increased especially with how inexpensive they have become.  These listening devices have become very popular and accessible.  With the low cost for these devices the more sales there are and increase of people who own them.  For example, “Google has priced its Home Mini under $30 for the holiday season” (Hakim).  With the Google Home mini costing only $30 more people will be able to afford it which leads to more people owning them.  With these circumstances these devices will be a more common occurrence in the average person's household which leads to the government being able to monitor the people straight from their household.  With the holiday’s just around the corner these will be an inexpensive gift and an easy gift to get someone.  Many see value in these devices but some don’t, “As discussed, the biggest hurdle for many to using these isn't price, but rather the privacy concerns that come with welcoming "always listening" microphones throughout the home” (Sciacca "Voice Control: The Good and the Bad: PART 2.").  There are some people who don’t see value in owning an at home listening device for privacy reasons but that doesn’t take away from the many who now have the perfect gift idea.  With these listening devices becoming inexpensive and accessible they now become a perfect gift idea to satisfy your tech savvy friends and family.  Slowly but surely more and more people will start to see value in these devices and they will become a common occurrence in the everyday person's home.  When a luxury becomes affordable more people will buy it, “Voice-activated home systems are a tempting and fairly affordable luxury” (Suber).  With this luxury decreasing in price the more widely owned they will become.  Having this advancement in technology be so affordable is a gateway for the government to always be listening.  The perfect affordable gift idea may be a gateway for giving up your privacy to the government.  The accessibility and demand for devices that are always listening is giving the government more power to listen in with a simple tool that people are willingly going out and buying.

With these listening devices in everyday homes now they can be used to record and collect data which in hindsights just means they are recording and collecting data from you.  The average person doesn’t know what they are getting themselves into with these listening devices sitting in their homes.  These devices recording the everyday person in their own homes seem eerily familiar to the book 1984.  In the book 1984 telescreens were always watching, listening, and recording, “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously.  Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard.  There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment” (Orwell 7).  The telescreens were put into the apartments of the citizens so the government could monitor them 24/7.  But, unlike 1984 we are willingly putting these listening devices into our homes with no questions asked while in 1984 they were mandatory to be in your home.  With these devices being in our homes they collect data which the people give up their privacy for the advancement in technology.  Unfortunately, most people don’t realize how much privacy they are giving up even if it is for the advancement in technology.  With the advancement in technology the people lose their privacy, “Of course, we've been trading off privacy for the wonder and convenience of technology for years.  How comfortable we are with gradually ceding more data to the machines is probably inversely correlated with how many times we've watched ''The Terminator” (Hakim).  How comfortable can you feel when you’re in your own home but you are always being listened into? These listening devices are stripping away privacy and using data for things no one exactly knows.  The government takes advantage of the people and wants to keep control.  When the devices are plugged in they are always recording unless you unplug them.  For instance, “These devices are listening all the time (unless you turn them off, which kinda defeats the purpose) and if that idea bothers you, then you should probably reconsider using them” (Sciacca "Voice Control: The Good and the Bad.").  Having these devices in your home can make you feel unsettled especially when you have no idea exactly what they are recording or when they stop recording.  If you don’t want the devices to record you could always unplug them but then they can’t do the job you bought them for.  These devices can be around the clock listening without your knowledge.  How far will you let the government monitor and watch your life?

Hacking into these listening devices has become easier and easier as time goes on.  People are putting a piece of technology into their homes that is easy to be hacked into.  There is no way for an owner of these devices to be able to tell if someone has hacked into them.  “ With a few keystrokes, they can keep the microphone on, set up alerts for certain buzz words and even turn on the device's camera without you knowing” (Suber).  Having these devices in your house is more harmful than the average person suspects.  These devices are very simple to hack into and can record everything you say and send it back to whoever is hacking in such as the government.  These devices impede on a person's privacy and the people who own them unknowingly give up all of their privacy to a small piece of technology.  With the ability to hack into these devices all your personal information such as conversations can be collected and it is very easy to do.  “Hackers have already proved the devices are easy to access and control via downloadable apps” (Suber).  Hacking these devices is very simple and directly at a person's fingertips since you can hack them through downloadable apps.  The government is directly in your house with these devices.  Having these devices in your own home you are practically inviting the government to listen in on what you are doing.  “And over the summer, a hacker showed that an Echo could effectively be turned into a wiretap, though that required physical contact with the device itself” (Hakim).  With the echos being able to be turned into wiretaps all privacy is lost.  The government has the simple tools to be spying on you in your own home.  The privacy people lose to these devices and the data they give up without completely knowing it is huge.  With these devices in your home there is a risk of them being hacked and for you to lose privacy in your own home.

At home listening devices are the gateway for the government to get inside of the peoples homes.  Having these same objects always recording us takes away the privacy of many.  These devices are very inexpensive which leads to a widespread number of people owning them.  With people and the government being able to hack into them you as the owner of these devices are buying an item to take away your privacy.  These devices are disguised as a helpful hands free tool for your home but they have a big secret.  They are always listening and monitoring without you knowing and not telling you where exactly this information is going.  These small innocent helpful looking tools are hiding a big secret from their powerless owners.

Work Cited

Hakim, Danny.  "Alexa, Stop Listening! Hey Google, You Too." New York Times, 10 Dec.  2017, p.  7(L).  Gale General OneFile, https://link-gale-w9ba.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A518128526/ITOF?u=nysl_li_harb&sid=ITOF&xid=9075ab77.  Accessed 16 Dec.  2020.

Orwell, George.  1984.  Signet Classics, 1977.

Sciacca, John.  "Voice Control: The Good and the Bad: PART 2." Sound & Vision, vol.  85, no.  5, Oct.-Nov.  2020, p.  24.  Gale General OneFile, link-gale-w9ba.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A639509898/ITOF?u=nysl_li_harb&sid=ITOF&xid=6505e31f.  Accessed 18 Dec.  2020.

Sciacca, John.  "Voice Control: The Good and the Bad." Sound & Vision, vol.  85, no.  4, Sept.  2020, p.  20.  Gale General OneFile, link-gale-w9ba.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A633062839/ITOF?u=nysl_li_harb&sid=ITOF&xid=066351da.  Accessed 18 Dec.  2020.

Suber, Griffin.  "HEY GOOGLE ...  Are You Safe?" Log Home Living, vol.  36, no.  2, Mar.  2019, p.  14+.  Gale General OneFile, link-gale-w9ba.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A571515609/ITOF?u=nysl_li_harb&sid=ITOF&xid=23a1e470.  Accessed 18 Dec.  2020.

Thomas, Laurel. "Hey, Alexa, stop listening to everything I say." UWIRE Text, 23 Nov. 2018, p. 1. Gale General OneFile, https://link-gale-w9ba.orc.scoolaid.net/apps/doc/A563125607/ITOF?u=nysl_li_harb&sid=ITOF&xid=9f4d301e. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.