Google Developing Eavesdropping Technology?
Google has developed a prototype of a system that can use your computer’s microphone to eavesdrop on you. The eavesdropping system would listen for sounds that it could then process in order to target advertising to you based on what TV program you are watching. Of course, an eavesdropping system could be expanded for other uses also. TechnologyReview.com has an article on the Google eavesdropping software:
“Their prototype software, detailed in a conference presentation in Europe last June, uses a computer’s built-in microphone to listen to the sounds in a room. It then filters each five-second snippet of sound to pick out audio from a TV, reduces the snippet to a digital “fingerprint,” searches an Internet server for a matching fingerprint from a pre-recorded show, and, if it finds a match, displays ads, chat rooms, or other information related to that snippet on the user’s computer.”
Google claims that they are not gathering enough information to really spy on people:
“When word of the research first appeared in the media, some bloggers and other technology watchers reacted with horror; many assumed that the background conversation picked up by the microphone in Google’s system would be uploaded to Google. But the technology makes it impractical; at four bytes, the fingerprints don’t contain enough information to reconstruct the original sounds in a room. “Some people did get the impression that we had an open microphone that was going to listen in on them,” says Norvig.”
But — consider how fast technology is progressing. I remember when 1Mb 3.5 inch floppy disks were high tech. With the gear I have in my laptop bag at this moment I now have the equivelent storage space of 180,512 3.5 inch floppy disks. Bandwidth and memory are going to be even cheaper in the near future. A computer eavesdropping system, like the one that Google is developing, will not have limitations on how much information it can collect and store.
The privacy implications are terrible.
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YOu think that’s bad, check this out?
http://digg.com/security/Is_There_a_Hidden_Camera_in_Your_Laptop
It looks like some third parties are activating hidden webcams that are built into certain models of laptops in order to track eye movements to get marketing feedback on how people surf the web.
Comment by Michael — September 24, 2006 @ 10:51 pm
Well you know take heart because the real reason for the evesdropping is not to find out what we are doing–but to find out if we’ve found out what they’re doing! They couldn’t care less about terrorists–if they did 9/11 would never have happened. The real deal is how long can they maintain the bullshit! Bob Woodward just said it in his book. They played “chicken” with the lives of Americans and lost! And they still don’t want to come clean. Then the Republicans will leave their bullshit for the Democrats to clean up. Some things never change! Do we realize we are paying this administration to make our lives miserable?????
Comment by Dawn Bray — October 4, 2006 @ 10:08 pm
[...] if Google is not creepy enough with their eavesdropping technology where they plan to use your computer’s speakers to listen to sounds in your house and serve [...]
Pingback by Real Conspiracy Theories » Will Google Begin Harvesting Your DNA? — November 18, 2007 @ 3:55 pm
Speaking of evesdropping, this is an aside…..so Bush is destroying a “spy” satellite so that it won’t crash and burn and hurt us. How thoughtful! Oh, or could it be before we find out the real deal on what that satellite is about. I say I say let the damn thing land and then get in touch with your congress person and ask for an independent evaluation of just what that satellite was real-l-ly doing before the republicans run away from home come election time.
Comment by Erica — February 14, 2008 @ 4:00 pm