Apple announced updates to its lineup and amidst the hype of the foldable phone was this important one:
Apple Watch Series 12 doesn’t wait for “Hey Siri” before it starts paying attention. Sound Recognition listens continuously for sirens, alarms, doorbells, and crying babies, flagging them with on-device intelligence even when the wearer’s iPhone isn’t nearby. Live Rewind goes further: a double press of the Digital Crown surfaces the previous 15 seconds of nearby conversation as a text snippet, without anyone having to ask for it in the moment.
And
Apple’s stated design gives users more concrete safeguards to evaluate than a vague promise that audio is “handled privately.” But opt-in only covers the wearer. Live Rewind gives bystanders an audible chime and a visible indicator; Siri Recap, which produces a saved summary of a conversation, has no described equivalent. That gap, not “always listening” treated as an abstract threat, is the actual privacy question worth scrutinizing before these betas reach more devices.
Your privacy was already at risk thanks to always-listening features in phones and with home devices like Alexa. Now think about how many Apple Watches you see in the world? Does your lawyer, priest, spouse, or an angry parent meeting with you have one? What does that mean for the privacy of your communications?
Rumors also point to future airpods having cameras built in – even as tech companies like Meta (it’s always Meta) attempt to foist AI glasses on us again. The reality is, at this point, between watches, glasses, and wearables, we can no longer assume that we aren’t being recorded and increasingly that means not just with audio but with video.
As educators this is another place where we need to be aware that our actions represent us both in and out of the classroom. The filming of an incident on camera using a phone is more noticeable than the wave of options presented now. This will have ramifications for meetings, discipline, classrooms, and academic integrity. Most schools don’t have an AI policy – do they have a wearables policy? A glasses policy? An implant policy?
You can read some of my concerns and what states might protect you now at stopbeingcreepy.org
Leave a Reply