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‘Are our devices starting to listen to us?’: 8 readers’ questions, answered by a computing expert

Technology is amazing, but we need to use it wisely, says Griffith College’s Dr Waseem Akhtar.

EVER LOST YOUR phone on a night out? Sure, you can just text your partner to let them know, or Google the closest garda station, or just hail and pay for a taxi home using the card on your account. Oh, wait… 

We now live in an age in which technology has an almost seamless level of integration with our daily lives, and that is only set to get more so. “Our lives will massively change over the next 30 years, and we don’t yet know which direction it will go” says Dr Waseem Akhtar, Head of Computing at Griffith College.

So, how will technology and the world of computing shape our lives in that time? We gathered a few fascinating questions about it from readers and put them to Dr Akhtar. 

Here’s what he said…

1. Are our devices starting to listen to us?

tinh-khuong-ubvnSiTv7XA-unsplash Unsplash Unsplash

Ever had a weirdly specific advertisement pop up on Instagram a few hours after you mentioned it in conversation? Our understanding of the data we share with social media companies has evolved over time, explains Dr Akhtar:

If you go back ten years ago, people set up a Facebook page and thought this is only accessible to me and my friends. Now we know, whatever you post online can be accessed by other people and various search engines can copy, save and store it in their repositories.

Though Dr Akhtar is not aware of a study that has pinpointed that our devices actively listen to us and present targeted ads in response, his personal view is “in this interconnected world, anything is possible.” Dr Akhtar says this could be attributed to the strong possibility that keywords in emails and messages can be used to target ads.

2. How much of my private information is protected online?

Another part of living in this connected world is that “it’s possible for hackers to hack into your system and take control of your camera”. He references one case a few years ago in which hackers gained access to webcams and from there, attacked another 1.5 million devices. 

More recently, some tech companies have admitted that conversations on voice-activated devices are recorded to improve the algorithms that recognise the rhythms of human speech. The question is – who has access to this information? It’s a complicated issue, explains Dr Akhtar: 

It depends on the nature of the data shared and how you value your privacy. There’s a view that it’s almost impossible to make your information fully secure, so you need to be mindful that it could get out. 

He adds: “The point is that we have to discuss and debate what privacy means to our society in 2019.”

3. Will we lose our jobs to robots?

unnamed (1) Dr Waseem Akhtar, who often touches on the future of work in his lectures Griffith College Griffith College

Though you might laugh at this question, Dr Akhtar references Carl Benedikt Frey’s book The Technology Trap. Within it, Frey estimates how roughly more than 40% of jobs in the US might be lost to automation. “It’s a million dollar question – and it’s very hard to answer”, admits Dr Akhtar. While we may lose some jobs, new advances in technology may also balance that out by creating news jobs that haven’t yet been invented.

So what kind of jobs are at risk? “All those jobs with a huge element of repetition we may lose to automation”. For example, taxi-drivers and truck drivers may be replaced with self-driving cars. “Highly skilled jobs where there is a lot of intuition might be safe”, says Dr Akhtar, “so the likes of preachers and politicians might be safe”.

4. How will artificial intelligence affect the services we use?

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In some industries however, artificial intelligence and automation is actually likely to improve the level of service that you get, says Dr Akhtar. In the case of doctors, it may not replace them but change the way they engage with their patients:

For example, when you walk into a hospital, you might see an artificially intelligent system that takes your vital signs and gives the recommendation of which doctor should see you.

Another industry that might benefit from automation is the legal profession: “If you’re looking for legal advice, there may be a computer that gives you that initially before seeing a solicitor”. This information can then be passed onto a solicitor to guide you or to allow them to decide whether they will take up your case.

5. How ‘smart’ will our devices get?

Artificial intelligence is something Dr Akhtar has been following closely for two years and intends to continue. “It has a huge potential to change the way we operate and our day-to-day activities.” One example is fully autonomous vehicles, which will have a huge impact on the way we get around:

We may stop buying cars and have a subscription so the nearest car will just pick you up and drop you off. The car can then keep moving and doing other things – maybe we won’t need parking spaces.

An example Dr Akhtar often uses in his lectures is how devices may develop a ‘personality’. Take the following scenario – you are driving back from your office and your car may receive a message from your fridge and suggest that you go and buy milk. Or it may say, ‘Why don’t you swing by the gym? You haven’t been in two months’. “AI will fundamentally change the way we engage with our devices” says Dr Akhtar.

6. Which technology advancements should concern us?

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Short answer here is that these powerful tools should be handled wisely, says Dr Akhtar: “Think about autonomous robots – if various nations start to equip drones with weapons, what will happen then?” It’s something that requires immediate discussion both with citizens and government, Dr Akhtar warns.

“The choices we make now are extremely important – media outlets need to inform citizens that they should raise these things.” Dr Akhtar says that the next time a politician knocks on your door, it’s worth discussing what they are doing about these developments: “It will have a huge impact, we need to start thinking about it now.”

7. How important is it to know how to code for the future?

If your kids are lucky enough, they may have been exposed to a coding module or organisation – for example, companies such as Microsoft run programmes whereby primary and secondary are invited in to learn how to code for the day, while volunteer-led organisations such as CoderDojo offer it for free.

Coding is what Dr Akhtar considers “an essential skill” to arm future generations with as they are the most likely to be affected by the impact of automation: “We need to understand how computers work and how programmes are written. It should be an important part of the curriculum.”

8. Is ethical hacking actually beneficial for our future?

unnamed Griffith College Griffith College

The answer to this kind of depends on who you’re talking to, says Dr Akhtar. A hacker looks for vulnerabilities within a system and to exploit them:

Some people will define hacking as the illegal use of other people’s computer systems. But do I think the fundamental approach and skills of trying to break in to find the weakness of a security system is important.

When a hacker infiltrates a security system, a number of things can happen. Sometimes they will engage with the company to offer their services to fix the issue. Sometimes that company will offer a reward to hackers that can break into their system. Other times there is little or no engagement with the ‘hacked party’ – this is the darker side of hacking.

We rely hugely on these interconnected systems and digital devices. Just setting up a security system and assuming it will always work is not the right approach. It’s the equivalent of locking the door and assuming there might not be a window a burglar could get in.

Our current method of testing this security is just not as efficient as it could be, says Dr Akhtar: “Basically the way that it is happening is a little bizarre. With a little more structure and formality, I think ethical hacking could be very useful.”

Sound like something you’d love to learn more about? Griffith College offer a total of 17 fantastic computing courses including degrees in Computing, Applied Digital Media, Big Data Management, Web Development, and Computing Science. Take a look at exactly what they have on offer here.

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    Mute Paraic
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    Aug 12th 2019, 8:20 AM

    Don’t know why the expert is unsure. It’s been widely reported that Amazon, Google and Facebook all have human employees listening to their devices audio capture. See links.

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    Mute Renton Burke
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    Aug 12th 2019, 1:54 PM

    @Paraic: it’s still a mixture of conspiracy that had people concerned. In the case of the device companies, they have an option on signing up to allow data (including voice) to be used for performance improvement. There has been no cases of people who have opted out sending this data. Facebook are only an app company, and you can turn off all mic access to them in the phone with no issue. The simple thing is turn them off, and no more targeted ads – if you find ads related to something you were searching for, well that’s actually how the industry works!

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    Mute Paraic
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    Aug 12th 2019, 2:47 PM

    @Renton Burke: You need to watch “The Great Hack”. Nothing to do with conspiracy “concerns”. The reality is that most people are aware that there is a certain tradeoff of sharing of personal information for the purposes of targeted advertisment in exchange for genuinely useful apps, such as Google maps Etc. However, many don’t appreciate the fact that companies such as Facebook are working hand in hand with the likes of Cambridge Analytica (now called Emerdata). A company who “obtained” Facebook data, created a psychological profile for each user and then used that data to target the user with custom tailored smear adds to steer the electorate into voting in the likes of Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Brexit etc.
    The outcome is so effective that it’s considered military grade…

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    Mute Paraic
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    Aug 12th 2019, 3:06 PM

    … An example is the “Crooked Hillary” logo with handcuffs in place of the ‘oo’. Was their handiwork. There was no justification for calling Hillary Clinton crooked. Most of the reasons people to this day quote to support the idea that she deserved that title, are based on fake news reports, dreamt up, created by and disseminated by CA. Another were the slowed down and heavily edited videos showing her to appear to have mental health issues. People took them at face value and jumped on the anti-Hillary “bandwagon”.A bandwagon that was in actual fact a phantom, the fabrication of an insidious company using military grade “psyc ops” technology against civilians, to manipulate the global political landscape. It may be that the political landscape is being altered, but we’ve got G.Maps, yay!

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    Mute Jim O Brien - TechBuzz Ireland
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    Aug 12th 2019, 8:41 AM

    An unsure expert.LOL i feel so much safer now knowing that they STILL ARE.

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    Mute McNulty Jimmy
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    Aug 12th 2019, 11:01 AM

    An “expert’” unwilling to acknowledge the blindingly bloody obvious should be the heading.

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    Mute Renton Burke
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    Aug 12th 2019, 1:55 PM

    @McNulty Jimmy: science needs proof, not anecdotes. As with all conspiracies, the lack of proof (or otherwise) makes the irrational more emboldened, but the scientist “unsure”.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    Aug 12th 2019, 1:05 PM

    At least there’s one piece of good news: no more taxi drivers! The roads will be a lot safer.

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    Mute Paraic
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    Aug 12th 2019, 8:18 AM
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    Aug 12th 2019, 8:17 AM
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    Mute Cupid Stunt
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    Aug 12th 2019, 9:56 PM

    My life is so friggin boring I’m flattered that someone wants to listen to me!

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    Mute Peter Buchanan
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    Aug 12th 2019, 7:26 PM

    Does he know where you can buy a good tin-foil hat?

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