Apple recently announced an upcoming feature for their new Apple Watches called “Audio Intelligence,” which will always be listening to and transcribing conversations in the background and summarizing them at the end of the day. While Apple have implemented some protections and safeguards to protect the privacy of the watch owner, anyone who talks to someone who has an Apple Watch with “Audio Intelligence” enabled could potentially be recorded without their knowledge or consent.
People are freaking out over Ring cameras being used by ICE. But privacy advocates have been warning that this exact scenario was possible – even inevitable – ever since Ring cameras were first released. And now there are rumors of Apple working on an AirTag-sized AI pin you can wear that has multiple cameras and a microphone. What could go wrong?
I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner, but I am now blocking ads and trackers system-wide on my iPhone via AdGuard's public DNS. And anyone can set this up for free on their phones, PCs, or even their home routers.
For a long time – at least a decade and a half – I have been learning about and gaining greater understanding of the problems with Big Tech and how pervasive it is in our lives. I have tried numerous times to move away from using proprietary, corporate-controlled technology but have always been drawn back to using it for one reason or another, burying my concerns in the dark recesses of my mind. But recent events have drawn those concerns again to the forefront of my thoughts. And I feel a great sense of urgency to try to adopt and use freer technologies.
It's interesting the things you come across online when you wake up in the middle of the night. For some reason at 2:30am today, my half-conscious-but-apparently-not-tired-enough-to-sleep brain decided to search Startpage for “boycott Twitch” and discovered there is an actual Amazon boycott starting today. I took that as a sign. I'm joining the boycott. I won't be streaming on Twitch this week.
Someone in a Discord server I'm on forced me to look in a metaphorical mirror and made me realize how news and social media have negatively impacted my objectivity and mental health in recent weeks.