Apple Watch’s new AI features are normalizing the idea that technology is always listening

摘要: Apple is trying to get consumers to accept, and even welcome, a new reality: Your tech is always listening.

At Wednesday’s

Surprise and Shine event

正文

Apple is trying to get consumers to accept, and even welcome, a new reality: Your tech is always listening.

At Wednesday’s

Surprise and Shine event

, where the company introduced its new hardware lineup, the real surprise turned out not to be

the foldable iPhone

, but how the privacy-sensitive tech giant has decided

its watches will now be able to process live audio

and transcribe what was said.

Does this mean you’re always being recorded if the person you’re interacting with is wearing an Apple Watch? Not exactly — though it may make some people uncomfortable regardless.

It also raises the question of whether consumers actually want this technology, or if Apple forged ahead in this area because it was afraid that another company, such as OpenAI, would soon introduce a competitive AI device of its own.

Today, a number of startups are acting on the belief that AI-powered transcription is a key consumer use case for AI. So far, this has often involved transcribing meeting notes or recording lectures or interviews. Some companies, like the AI pendant Friend and Amazon’s Bee, ventured into other areas, too, with always-available AI companions that can help you remember your day by passively taking notes.

Apple decided to go a slightly different route. With its new watches’ “Audio Intelligence,” “Live Rewind,” and “Siri Recap” features, the company is straddling the line between accessibility and utility on one side and what starts to feel like invasive technology on the other.

On its own, Audio Intelligence seems to be a useful feature for the deaf or hard of hearing, as it can alert Apple Watch wearers to sounds like sirens, alarms, doorbells, babies crying, and more, using on-device AI. This can work even when the wearer’s iPhone is not with them and, in some cases, could provide life-saving assistance, such as when a fire alarm or carbon-monoxide detector goes off. It’s doubtful anyone would take issue with this type of audio AI.

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来源: TechCrunch AI