"Smart Speakers, Smarter Protection"

Although smart speakers such as Alexa offer convenience, they have raised some privacy concerns. As Columbia University researchers have pointed out, companies have developed technology that poses even greater threats to privacy: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capable of determining a user's emotional state or mood based on their voice. Many researchers have been working on using voice data to infer emotions, mood, or even mental health, according to Asif Salekin, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Columbia University. Previous research in Salekin's lab has focused on developing technology that can infer mental disorders such as depression, social anxiety, manic disorder, and more based on a person's voice. While this technology may be useful in some situations, most, if not all, users have not given consent to have their emotions detected by smart speakers. Therefore, the researchers are looking for ways to protect users' privacy from smart speakers. Through extensive research, the group developed a device that can be attached to a smart speaker or downloaded as software onto a laptop. This device emits a mild noise that only the smart speaker can hear and masks the user's emotional tone in their voice, providing a new level of privacy protection. This article continues to discuss the team's work to provide smart speaker users with another level of privacy.

Syracuse University reports "Smart Speakers, Smarter Protection"

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