Can we trust a smart speaker? Listen to 6 Minute English

Dan: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute

English. I'm Dan.

Rob: And I'm Rob. So Dan what's...

Oh, sorry. Oh, it's my wife. Err... hang on...

Dan: You didn't answer!

Rob: Don't take this personally, Dan,

but I'm not exactly crazy about

someone eavesdropping

on my phone call. If you eavesdrop on

something, you secretly listen to

someone's conversation.

Some things are private, you know?

Dan: Oh! Of course! I totally understand.

One quick question for you though - do

you have a smart speaker? You know,

like the Google Assistant, Amazon's

Alexa or Apple's Siri.

Rob: Oh sure, yes, I've got one! It's great!

I can ask it all sorts of questions, it tells

me about the news and weather,

it plays music when I want...

it does all sorts! You just

give it a voice command and

it does what you want!

Dan: So it can hear you, can it?

Rob: Of course! How else can you give

it a voice command?

Dan: All the time?

Rob: Well, I assume so.

Dan: So how do you know

it's not eavesdropping on you?

Rob: Well, I... oh... I see.

I hadn't thought of that.

Dan: That's our topic for this 6 Minute

English. How safe is your

smart speaker? However, before

that, here's our quiz question.

By what percentage has the number of

smart speakers used in US

households increased from

December 2017 to December 2018? Is it...

a) around 40%, b) around 60%,

or c) around 80%?

Rob: Oh, well, I know they are very popular

even in my household. So I'm going to go

for c) around 80%.

Dan: Well, we'll find out if you're right later

in the programme.

So, smart speakers and privacy!

Florian Schaub is an assistant professor

at the University of Michigan

School of Information.

Here he is speaking on the BBC World

Service programme The Why Factor

about smart speakers.

What does he say people are introducing

into their homes?

Florian Schaub: You're basically

introducing... listening bug in

your home, in your most

intimate space. While the companies say

they are only actively listening

to what's going on in your home

when they hear the keyword,

the microphone is still on the whole time

in order to be able to detect that keyword.

We don't know to what extent companies

are co-operating with the government

or to what extent the government

might try to circumvent

company security mechanisms in order

to then be able to listen

to what you're doing.

Dan: So what did he say people

are introducing, Rob?

Rob: He basically said we're introducing

a listening bug. Now, a bug is

a small electronic

device used for secretly listening to

conversations. Much like

a spy would use.

Dan: Yes, and he mentioned it was

in our most intimate space!

Intimate means 'private and personal'.

Rob: Well, I can't think of anywhere more

intimate than my home.

Dan: Indeed! He also said that

the smart speaker's microphone

is on the whole time - even though

the companies insist that they're only

actively listening when

the keyword is said.

Rob: Yes, he suggested that we can't

know how far a company might be

co-operating with

a government to eavesdrop on people.

Dan: Or whether a government

might be circumventing a smart speaker's

security and listening in

anyway without the company's

or owner's permission!

Rob: Circumvent means 'cleverly

bypass or go around'. So if all

this eavesdropping is possible,

why are smart speakers so popular?

Dan: Good question! And here's Florian

Schaub again with an answer.

He conducted a study on people's

attitudes to privacy when

it came to smart speakers.

How do people feel about having a smart

speaker that could

eavesdrop on them?

Florian Schaub: What we often saw

is people just being resigned

to 'this is the trade-off

they have to make' if they want

to enjoy the convenience that a smart

speaker provides to them.

Rob: He said that people are resigned to

the privacy trade-off. If you are resigned

to something, you accept something

unpleasant that can't be changed.

Dan: Yes and a trade-off is a compromise.

You accept something bad

to also receive something good.

Rob: So people accept that a smart

speaker gives them advantages,

even though there could

be downsides?

Dan: Yes. In the grand scheme of things,

the data that these devices hear

is probably not that significant

considering all the data companies have

about us already anyway!

Rob: So can I have the answer

to the quiz then?

Dan: Of course! Earlier I asked by what

percentage the number of smart speakers

used in US households

increased from December 2017

to December 2018? Was it...

a) around 40%, b) around 60%, or

c) around 80%? What did you say, Rob?

Rob: I said c) around 80%.

Dan: And you are right. The answer is

around 80% - from 66 million

in December 2017 to

118 million in December 2018,

and around ten million people in the UK

now use one too!

I guess they're not worried

about eavesdropping.

Rob: Nice slide into the vocabulary there,

Dan. If someone eavesdrops

on you, it means they

secretly listen to your conversation.

Dan: They could be eavesdropping on

you through a bug, which is a small

electronic device

used to secretly listen to conversations.

Rob: Yes, they may have bugged your

most intimate, or private

and personal, spaces.

Dan: Next we had circumvent. If you

circumvent something, such as

security, you cleverly

or bypass it or go around it.

Rob: Then we had resigned. If you are

resigned to something, it means you

accept something

unpleasant that can't be changed.

Dan: And lastly, we had trade-off.

A trade-off is a compromise.

You get something good, but

you also get something bad.

Rob: Right - like 6 Minute English! A great

discussion and vocabulary,

but the trade-off

is it only lasts six minutes!

Dan: Which is just about now, actually

- time to go. So until next time,

find us all over

the place online and on social media.

Just search for BBC Learning English.

Bye for now.

Rob: Goodbye!