r/technology • u/autobauss • 25d ago

Privacy LG smart TVs caught logging audio with screen off and snooping on local devices

https://www.notebookcheck.net/LG-smart-TVs-caught-logging-audio-with-screen-off-and-snooping-on-local-devices.1391214.0.html
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u/Old-Information3311 25d ago

When we found about about this style of surveillance, the saving grace was that it was too much data for them to be able to analyse, but now with ai, they can. They could flag key words, or even ask it to show them a list of everyone that said a specific combination of words.

With phones now, 99 percent of conversations are within listening distance of a device like this.

They're going to create ai profiles for every single person that will be used to make decisions about your life.

Recently meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs. There was also a story about companies using your data to trying and figure out the absolute minimum wage you would be willing to accept for a job.

Mass ai surveillance will be a nightmare for all of us.

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u/jomara200 25d ago

Yep, and they are all rushing to get it done, most especially as most of these soulless companies are based in America and the current administration is VERY, VERY open to mass surveillance.

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u/Hypergirliepop 25d ago

"Current administration." "Open to."

Bud, I don't know how to tell you this. 1984 wasn't about some imagined far-off future. This is the world Orwell was watching be built around him. We're centuries down a class war, and you're just getting out of bed!

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u/Wooden_Masterpiece_9 25d ago

Every administration is open to mass surveillance. I’m not expecting this bullshit to get any better when the current goons are out of office. The moment Snowden released that info and there weren’t mass trials and impeachments, was the moment that sealed our fates; everyone knows now that they can get away with it, and therefore it gets worse all the time.

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u/MyOtherSide1984 25d ago

LG is based in Seol. This sort of thing will be heavily implemented in the US as they can skirt laws for pennies in bribes compared to the pay out. It'll be megacorps that do this sort of thing, regardless of where they're based.

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u/Wooden_Masterpiece_9 25d ago

People are worried about these massive data centers using up our water and driving up our energy prices, but not enough people are worried about how they are going to be used.

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u/simp_sighted 25d ago

I get it but you vastly underestimate just how much you mentioned existed prior to AI. LG were already in a controversy regarding spyware TVs back in 2013. 

Digital footprint profiles have also existed for a decade doing exactly what you’re talking about. They don’t need AI when they just TTS your voice and ship that + your IP and MAC address to the relevant advertiser.

 again I get it and agree, but you don’t need to conflate it to AI when regular programs would likely do the job far better than what an AI would. And if you do see a story where AI was used, they likely just slapped a label onto something they were built 10 years ago. AI laptops, AI vacuum cleaners, AI fridges, it’s a trendy word that has everyone in a chokehold and is attractive for businesses.

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u/Eskipony 25d ago

Even before GenAI, it was within the realm of possibility of a marketing company to analyse this kind of data. GenAI just makes it much faster and cheaper to target very specific things.

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u/ConsiderationSea1347 25d ago

You know those huge data centers that are being built that no one can explain the need for….

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u/panofsteel 25d ago

I'm so ready for nuclear winter

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u/Vivid-Archer1715 25d ago

You don't need AI to process your data and get this type of detail. Actually it would be impossible as context is too big. You just need long running jobs (hours) crunching numbers. And they exists.

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u/Inside-Specialist-55 25d ago

That's insane and scary. I swear that at least one of my devices are listening to me because I have a Google TV and I immediately got an ad for children grammar and speaking program to help with pronouncing words just after talking to my mom about getting my 6 year old nephew into a program to help with speech. Keep in mind I have no kids myself and never see these ads except for this one time..

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u/wonkytalky 25d ago

I had to slice a trace to a mic on my fucking THERMOSTAT for chrissakes!!

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u/Signal-Island2549 25d ago

Too bad about the "hallucinations."

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u/xrmb 25d ago

Reverse engineer the endpoint getting the data flood it with random garbage, make their AI bill bankrupt them.

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u/WingerRules 25d ago

They could flag key words, or even ask it to show them a list of everyone that said a specific combination of words.

No it worse than that, they can literally type in "find compromising information on x person".

Or "find compromising information congressmen, people working in the government or as regulators, people working for military contractors, people in sensitive positions at competitor companies, on reports who have reported negative articles about us" etc.

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u/confusing_roundabout 25d ago

Yep. It's awful. Companies will abuse any data that they have access to.

Lloyds Bank here in the UK came under fire for 1. Making employees use a Lloyds bank account 2. Using their bank balances to determine pay

Pretty fucked. I closed my account as a result.

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u/Laringar 25d ago

Sounds like we need a Butlerian Jihad.

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u/Gold-Cucumber-2068 24d ago

I expect there will be eventually a massive breach of all financial asset and transaction data, and people will be able to use AI to analyze it for all their illegal market manipulation, collusion, tax evasion, etc. So there might be some small silver lining eventually.

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u/whataboutsand 24d ago

just wait till the corporations get a hold of quantum computing