Amazon, Google, and Apple all listen to some audio clips sent to their servers through smart speakers, it has been revealed. They said that personal information isn’t linked to recordings.
Amazon employs thousands of people around the world to improve Alexa, the assistant bundled with the Amazon Echo line of speakers. Those listening to your commands transcribe the audio, add annotations and then feed the output back into the software in order to “eliminate gaps” in Alexa’s understanding which in turn provides a better experience for users.
According to Bloomberg, who spoke to several people who do some of the work on the audio, teams consist of full-time employees and contractors. Employees work from several outposts all around the world in places such as Boston, Costa Rica, India, and Romania. Bloomberg spoke to employees in a nondescript building in Romania who had signed non-disclosure agreements and work through around 1,000 clips in their nine-hour shift.
