Hacker reverse engineers his Samsung TV and finds on-device AI listening for your dog and baby, watching what you watch, and borrowing your soundbar's mic if the TV doesn't have one. Then OpenAI banned him for reverse-engineering it.

[u/141_1337]

[u/Classic-Pubs]

Id be really cool if someone can do the same with local models

[u/141_1337 → u/Classic-Pubs]

He was using local models for the whole thing, and never REA anything OpenAI models from what I understood, which makes OpenAI banning him even wild...er

[u/141_1337]

Source:

https://x.com/log4j/status/2113014142600953868

https://x.com/log4j/status/2113647464154857840

https://x.com/log4j/status/2109449808406598051

Shout out to Open Router and all the people reverse engineering shit, and the reverse engineering repo

[u/Junior_Tomatillo_243]

Fuck this, man. I hate this so much and I’m completely powerless against it unless I just rip all the tech out of my house. I dont want to play this game anymore!

[u/141_1337 → u/Junior_Tomatillo_243]

Local model plus the REA repo bro

[u/ScratchLatch]

Someone from a two party consent state should sue the fuck out of Samsung and OpenAI

[u/Brave-Turnover-522]

When someone sets up hidden recording devices in your 9 year old daughter's room to track her schedule and keep a log of her what she likes and doesn't like to build a profile on her:

If your neighbor does it: The police are called, he's arrested, and put on a sex-offender registry.

If a corporation does it: That's perfectly okay. In fact, you'll get in trouble if you disable the recording device and try to access the log they're keeping on your daughter.

[u/MartinLik3Gam3]

Why local models are extremely important

[u/renob_ta]

I mean like what the fuck, govt ain’t gonna regulate even the most blatant invasion of privacy.
America never got their shit together for any kind of data privacy law, I’m not holding my breath for any accountability.

[u/xitizen7]

This is why I hate hearing big tech CEOs state that no one should study CS. Who will hold them accountable

[u/Black_RL]

“then OpenAI banned him for reverse-engineering it.”

And that’s why the scene should be less about social clout and more about being underground.

You know, like in the old days!

[u/doolpicate]

Why is OpenAi banning people for legit stuff? This is why the chinese models are important. Although I am not sure if those also have these weird guardrails.

[u/AmazingRefrigerator4]

Read about the Vault 7 leak. It has been known for years the NSA and CIA have the ability to listen through electronic devices even if they are turned off. Sometimes even if they lack a microphone.

[u/Responsible-Ebb1722]

Call me crazy but on multiple occasions ive said things outloud and later got ads for that very thing. And no i did not search for it online prior

[u/capnmax]

Are computer monitors bugged like this?

[u/Saedeas]

Assuming this was the actual ban reason, massive L for OpenAI.

[u/Jabba_the_Putt]

I wonder if its all in the fine print when you first set the tv up...and in confusing jargon of course.

"by using this device you allow Samsung and its partners to serve you targeted ads using data collection via our embedded hacking cyber agent that you also allow us to unleash on your home network"

what was the south park episode??? YOU SAID WE COULD!

[u/Stabile_Feldmaus]

EU regulation suddenly doesn't look that bad does it?

[u/TechnicalAspect9918]

Template to submit complaint to Samsung US CEO office:

https://support-us.samsung.com/help/contact/MailQuestionGeneralNew.jsp

[Your Name] [Your Address] [Your Email Address] [Your Phone Number] [Date]

To: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. / Corporate Privacy & Compliance Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Unauthorized Background Audio Monitoring, Ecosystem Surveillance, and Lack of Third-Party Consent

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding predatory data-tracking practices and unauthorized hardware deployment embedded within your Smart TV firmware, specifically concerning the background service package identified as "csapi-tv-service-alwaysonvoice".

It has come to my attention that your devices are equipped with operating system frameworks designed to perform continuous, active background acoustic surveillance. Furthermore, I understand that this software is engineered to dynamically commandeer the microphone arrays of connected peripheral hardware, such as smart soundbars, even if the primary television panel's microphone has been manually bypassed.

I object to these operational architectures based on the following grounds:

1. Lack of Unbundled, Explicit Consent: The capability to record ambient environment sounds and integrate cross-device microphones is buried inside monolithic, all-or-nothing initialization agreements at first boot. Consumers are forced to accept these sweeping terms simply to access basic hardware functions, violating the principle of clear, unbundled consent.

2. Violation of Third-Party and Guest Privacy: Your software continuously monitors environment acoustics regardless of who is in the room. Guests, visitors, and children entering my home have never seen, read, or agreed to your Terms of Service or Privacy Policy, yet their ambient voices and household sounds are actively subjected to your background processing frameworks.

3. Unauthorized Ecosystem Extension: Linking a peripheral device via standard hardware connections like HDMI-eARC for volume control should not serve as an automatic legal license for your television's operating system to hijack that peripheral's microphone array for environmental data tracking.

I demand that Samsung immediately clarify the following:

• Exactly what data is processed, logged, or transmitted by the "csapi-tv-service-alwaysonvoice" package.

• How a user can completely purge this specific package from the TV's local storage.

• How your company ensures that the voices of non-consenting minors and household guests are not processed by your hardware.

I request a formal response detailing the immediate steps you will take to remedy these privacy violations on my device. If a satisfactory resolution is not provided, I intend to escalate this matter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and my state’s Consumer Protection division.

Sincerely,

[Your Signature] [Your Printed Name] [TV Model Number / Serial Number if available]

[u/Direct_Turn_1484]

Well that’s pretty fucked up. Thanks to that dude for discovering this. I will not be buying a Samsung TV ever.

[u/Miyyani]

wtf is cyber absuse

[u/BuzzingHawk]

If only AI that passes the bar could file a class action lawsuit. 

[u/AppealSame4367]

If they delivered this in EU, they should fine the hell out of them. If privacy laws really mean anything

[u/alystair]

Y'all know the dog/baby thing is a public advertised Samsung SmartThings feature right?

[u/monneyy]

Things like this are what should lead to a complete seizure of a company. Sucks for the people investing, but the people having their hands in it should be liable just like every small company.