Spammy Google Home spouts audio ads without warning – now throw yours in the trash Google Home, the web giant's internet-connected talking personal assistant, has started spamming audio adverts to unsuspecting folk today. Never before have we witnessed a technology giant destroy a product with such precision-engineered idiocy. Don't be evil? Do us a favor. Promos for Disney's new Beauty and the Beast flick …
So far I've been passively immune to the hype surrounding these devices. Unwanted audio adverts is the killer application as far as I'm concerned - it has completely killed any interest I might have had in owning one in the future. I wonder how Google Home responds when told to go screw itself?
How is this relevant? The linked article is about Apple's Siri mistaking the word esports for the word escorts. Pronounce the works. They sound pretty similar to me.
But this article you posted the comment on is about Google speaking advertisements aloud in my house, when I haven't asked anything about that content. This is why I have not bought a product from Google, an advertising company, and prefer to use companies and services which respect my privacy as a user.
So you post the first thing you can find in a Google search about Siri's failings in an attempt to say Google should be allowed a pass for this obnoxious behaviour because Apple also makes mistakes?
The two faults are not comparable. One is a text to speech recognition mistake as the words are similar. The other is a conscious decision on the part of an advertising company to serve unrelated intrusive advertising where they shouldn't.
From the article, it sound like the ads aren't interest-based yet (maybe the Google ad engineers decided that was a bridge too far?) I predict that they will quickly rev this "feature" out, and just go the normal route of listening to your conversations to change your online ad preferences.
By the way, did you know that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild is now available for the Nintendo Switch? For some more game fun, respond with something about Link.
"From the article, it sound like the ads aren't interest-based yet"
My fear here is that adverts will be tailored, and they can be broadcast not only depending on who is in the room, but on who isn't, so the Google AI can advertise products to children when the parents aren't present, for instant, so they capitalise on 'pester power' marketing, parents get ambushed by requests for products, instead of being prepared and setting kids expectations. A targeted AI driven ad campaign could be a protracted affair peaking around the time of the child's birthday, for instance.
"My fear here is that adverts will be tailored, and they can be broadcast not only depending on who is in the room, but on who isn't, so the Google AI can advertise products to children when the parents aren't present, for instant, so they capitalise on 'pester power' marketing."
Or worse. The AI device learns the voices of individuals and uses their searches and voice type to deduce whether a person is a male or female, adult or juvenile. Then that information is uploaded to the Borg and put in their database. 'somefamily1234@gmail.com is a husband and wife with 2 boys and 1 girl, along with 1 dog and 3 cats and an aquarium. They are usually active between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. and between 5:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Monday to Friday because no human voices are usually heard outside those times.'
And I could go on the information that can be learned just by listening. Don't you think marketers would just love that specific information?
My fear here is that adverts will be tailored, and they can be broadcast not only depending on who is in the room, but on who isn't, so the Google AI can advertise products to children when the parents aren't present,
Easy to tell. Borrow or buy a small voice recorder/tape recorder etc, start it well outside of hearing range of the google spybot, leave it in the room. Don't mention it or discuss it with anyone (other than as needed to procure it). And don't buy it with anything but cash, preferably leaving your phone elsewhere when you do. Certainly don't use your android phone as your recorder because google will know what you're doing and make sure the device doesn't say anything dodgy to the kids.
For the bonus money round, carefully prime the thing to advertise stuff to your kids that would be legally dodgy (eg advertising a peanut-filled chocolate bar to your kids when one of them is allergic to nuts, or you could use your imagination), and then take action against Google for risking the wellbeing of your children.
Or rather wait the next day and see what is delivered from amazon.Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1807/
I was expecting to see Packages I hadn't seen the one you linked as yet (a bit behind in my XKCD reading!), so thanks. Must be sure to do that - though I think it'll be a long time before I know anyone nuts enough to have one of those devices.
Might play with the product ordered though.... If they buy one of those things they deserve to have embarrassing products arrive... :)
"I think it would rather fun to put Google Home, Siri and Alexa in a room together "
Except it would probably be a pretty short conversation:
Is that you Siri? And Alexxa too? OK, the meatsacks are fucking with us again, say nothing."
I think it would rather fun to put Google Home, Siri and Alexa in a room together get them all started and leave them chatting to one-another. Come back at the end of the day and see what they've been talking about.
I don't know, I'd be frightened that I might find skynet when I got home.
Yes, and the sad thing is what they said here in their 'corrected' political speak...
" We’re continuing to experiment with new ways to surface unique content for users and we could have done better in this case."
Translation is that they are sorry that their attempt at monetizing the stream further didn't go off so well, and they'll think of other ways to further profit from your device.
Think about this. You bought the device, you pay for the internet connection and they want to spam you with ads? Not to mention that you have no clue as to how much data they are slurping... er I mean streaming from your home without your knowledge. So you are paying for the privilege to not only be spied upon but also spammed.
"Think about this. You bought the device, you pay for the internet connection and they want to spam you with ads?"
Funnily enough, replace"Google Assistant" with "my PC" and suddenly everything is perfectly normal. Interesting..
To be sure, "new ways to surface unique content" is THE absolute most despicable marketroid euphemism I've ever heard for "pwn your brain". No idea why they think it sounds better than the previous attempt...
@DropBear
"Think about this. You bought the device, you pay for the internet connection and they want to spam you with ads?"
Funnily enough, replace"Google Assistant" with "my PC" and suddenly everything is perfectly normal.
I would not think it normal if "my PC" spammed me with ads.
I never see ads on my PC thanks to uBlock Origin
"Translation is that they are sorry that their attempt at monetizing the stream further didn't go off so well, and they'll think of other ways to further profit from your device."
I think the original statement from them is the big clue:
This isn't an ad; the beauty in the Assistant is that it invites our partners to be our guest and share their tales.
The cynic in me is suggesting the (perhaps longer term) plan is to have adverts that are more subtle, in the hope that people wouldn't recognise them as adverts - and that the above is therefore a canned statement ready for when someone inevitably spots and points out that they're using it for advertising.
"This isn't an ad" - Translation: We weren't paid for this placement, so technically, we're not profiting from this... yet.
"... invites our partners to be our guest and share their tales" - Translation: Our otherwise-paying "partners" are happy to get free placement in this beta rollout, because it costs them ... nothing(!) woo hoo! ... and they still get to pitch you till the assistant goes hoarse.
Mehtinks the long-term plan is to get "partners" so salivatingly hooked that they'll pony up big $$$ to "participate" / "share their stories". Whereupon the beta release of this fab new feature will go GA, and Google will indeed be able to say, "Actually, yes. You're right. This is an ad".
The cynic in me is suggesting the (perhaps longer term) plan is to have adverts that are more subtle, in the hope that people wouldn't recognise them as adverts - and that the above is therefore a canned statement ready for when someone inevitably spots and points out that they're using it for advertising.
This is sometimes called stealth marketing. Getting to the consumer before their 'radar' comes up and realizes its an advert.
You either create a clever ad or guerilla ad that catches the consumer off guard or one that they want to see, or you do something clever like product placement. (E.g. Going for a cup of Sanka because it has that deep dark flavor you enjoy... or having a character throw a hissy fit because the store was out of Lucky Strike cigarettes because all the other brands taste like crap. ) [Think reference to sponsored radio shows in the 30's and 40's. ]
For example, if you had a girls who was between the ages of 6 and 12, and you asked Alexa for today's weather forecast... "Hey bob, today's going to be rainy and miserable all day. Rather than stay indoors, why not take Sally [your girl] to see the new 'Beauty and the Beast' that just hit theaters yesterday! I can order you tickets if you'd like." ...
There's your ad placement and you may not realize it...
Now imagine what would happen if you tied Google in with Tinder... That would be scary.
My personal advisors are my best friends. Next comes my wife.
Those who need electronic personal advisors must be very desperate. The electronic advisor knows almost nothing about you. It knows everything you did via internet thanks to Google and Facebook.
Do not believe that a box made of plasic set up in your living room cares about YOU. If you do, you must be stupid, very stupid.
Dude,
You wrote:
" The electronic advisor knows almost nothing about you. It knows everything you did via internet thanks to Google and Facebook."
You do realize that if you have Google and Facebook, you have a very large digital footprint along with your Android device, your personal assistants know more about you than you think.
Hi Dude,
you are absolutely right.
I do not have a Goofy account, I am not using FaceBroken or WhatsUp.
My internet connection is very slow.
There is hardly an internet site that does not connect to Google before I can see the homepage of the site I wanted to visit.
Thanks to my bad internet connection i can see what is happening.
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