From 7ae549907d3602777097981bdf6b8bfe0d178876 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: james Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2020 10:35:16 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Update 'content/topic/listening-with-the-pandemic.md' --- content/topic/listening-with-the-pandemic.md | 6 +++--- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/content/topic/listening-with-the-pandemic.md b/content/topic/listening-with-the-pandemic.md index 6b3c521..a00c1d4 100644 --- a/content/topic/listening-with-the-pandemic.md +++ b/content/topic/listening-with-the-pandemic.md @@ -34,11 +34,11 @@ A world of pure touchlessness is a world in which every breath becomes an examin ## Wakewordlessness -Wakewords were never going to last. They were always a trojan horse, designed to inveigle voice assistants into our homes and machine listening into our daily existence via a fantasy of consent. Their tendency is to disappear. In the future, machine listening will be wakewordless. Much of it is already. The smart city in particular is always listening; though the distribution of this listening is heavily stratified by, for instance, [race and class](https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/gun-violence-police-shotspotter/)]. Urban gunshot detection systems like Shot Spotter, and the microphones embedded in streetlamps [ref Aus] and traffic lights [ref], never sleep. Only personal devices retain the pretense. And not for long. +Wakewords were never going to last. They were always a trojan horse, designed to inveigle voice assistants into our homes and machine listening into our daily existence via a fantasy of consent. Their tendency is to disappear. In the future, machine listening will be wakewordless. Much of it is already. The smart city in particular is always listening; though the distribution of this listening is heavily stratified by, for instance, [race and class](https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/gun-violence-police-shotspotter/). Urban gunshot detection systems like Shot Spotter, and the microphones embedded in streetlamps [ref Aus] and traffic lights [ref], never sleep. Only personal devices retain the pretense. And not for long. -In response to the pandemic, the latest OS update to Apple Watch will include a [feature](https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12383124?__twitter_impression=true "a watch that tells you when you can stop washing your hands") that uses "machine-learning models to determine motion, which appears to be hand-washing, and then use audio to confirm the sound of running water or squishing soap in your hands.” All this with a view to helping you "keep going for the amount of time recommended by global health organisations." +In response to the pandemic, the latest OS update to Apple Watch will include a [feature](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-23/apple-wwdc-2020-ios-14-digital-key-and-hand-washing-arm-chips/12383124 "a watch that tells you when you can stop washing your hands") that uses "machine-learning models to determine motion, which appears to be hand-washing, and then use audio to confirm the sound of running water or squishing soap in your hands.” All this with a view to helping you "keep going for the amount of time recommended by global health organisations." -Here is a future in which the wake word becomes something we do, a situation, environment or atmosphere. Our bodies will consent on our behalf. Maybe one day soon, it will be our tone of voice, or a cough. As wakewords wane, so the qualities of wakefulness expand. What it means for a microphone to be 'on' grows by the day. Already, my headphones know where I am listening, and [adjust](https://www.sony.com.au/electronics/headband-headphones/wh-1000xm4#intelligent-tech "Smart listening technology to enhance your listening") how I listen accordingly. Though Google Assistant is built in, I never have to ask. And if I want to stop and talk to someone, they pause automatically to let in ambient sound. That way I never have to take them off. +Here is a future in which the wake word becomes something we do, a situation, environment or atmosphere. Our bodies will consent on our behalf. Maybe one day soon, it will be our tone of voice, or a cough. As wakewords wane, so the qualities of wakefulness expand. What it means for a microphone to be 'on' grows by the day. Already, my headphones know where I am listening, and [adjust how I listen](https://www.sony.com.au/electronics/headband-headphones/wh-1000xm4#intelligent-tech "Smart listening technology to enhance your listening") accordingly. Though Google Assistant is built in, I never have to ask. And if I want to stop and talk to someone, they pause automatically to let in ambient sound. That way I never have to take them off. ## Ambient assisted living