When I first started babysitting, the parents would leave me a baby monitor that would let me hear if the children started crying from their beds. As the years passed, suddenly th baby monitors had video screens and before I knew it, the parents could watch their child in bed from their smartphones. If they could watch their child, they could watch me put their child to bed. What I did when the baby was crying, how I changed a diaper, if the baby was swaddled properly, etc. While I highly doubt the parents ever had intentions other than ensuring their child was in safe hands, a unique struggle for privacy began.
Suddenly, we have dolls that are spying on children, completely disconnected from their parents. My Friend Cayla was created by Genesis Toys and international consumer watchdog groups just filed a formal complaint, claiming the toy is collecting information to later use. The doll sends data to a separate company for future use. It is unknown what exactly the company, Nuance Communications plans to do with the information collected from children, ranging from conversations to parents names, but they do have known connections with the US military. Privatized child psychologists could use the conversations to figure out how to sell toys and devices to children, the military could search for specific top-secret information discussed in the comfort of a living room, or just use it to increase revenue.
With holiday gifts like My Friend Kayla, Google Home, and voice activiated devices, it is important to be aware that the technology has the capability- and is- listening to our every conversation. If we can speak to our technology, it can listen. Not just when we want it to, but all of the time. The newest technology can be fun and exciting, but remind the receivers to be aware. And yes, I'm sure I sound like a paranoid communication major, but exploring just how capable digital surveillance is only beginning.
