15. “Dave Limp, Exec Behind Amazon’s Alexa: Full Transcript of Interview,” Fortune, July 14, 2016, http://fortune.com/2016/07/14/amazon-alexa-david-limp-transcript.
16. See Matthew Lynley, “Google Unveils Google Assistant, a Virtual Assistant That’s a Big Upgrade to Google Now,” TechCrunch, May 18, 2016, http://social.techcrunch.com/2016/05/18/google-unveils-google-assistant-a-big-upgrade-to-google-now. See also Minda Smiley, “Google I/O Conference: Three Takeaways for Marketers,” Drum, May 19, 2016, http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/05/19/google-io-conference-three-takeaways-marketers. For Pichai’s speech, see Sundar Pichai, “Google I/O 2016 Keynote,” Singju Post, May 20, 2016, http://singjupost.com/google-io-2016-keynote-full-transcript.
17. Pichai, “Google I/O 2016 Keynote.”
18. Pichai.
19. Jing Cao and Dina Bass, “Why Google, Microsoft and Amazon Love the Sound of Your Voice,” Bloomberg Businessweek, December 13, 2016, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-13/why-google-microsoft-and-amazon-love-the-sound-of-your-voice.
20. A. J. Dellinger, “I Took a Job Listening to Your Siri Conversations,” Daily Dot, March 2, 2015, https://www.dailydot.com/debug/siri-google-now-cortana-conversations.
21. “Global Smart Appliances Market 2016–2020,” Technavio, April 10, 2017, https://www.technavio.com/report/global-home-kitchen-and-large-appliances-global-smart-appliances-market-2016-2020; Adi Narayan, “Samsung Wants to Put Your Home on a Remote,” BusinessWeek: Technology, December 11, 2014.
22. Alex Hern, “Samsung Rejects Concern over ‘Orwellian’ Privacy Policy,” Guardian, February 9, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/09/samsung-rejects-concern-over-orwellian-privacy-policy.
23. Hern, “Samsung Rejects Concern.”
24. Electronic Privacy Information Center, “EPIC—Samsung ‘SmartTV’ Complaint,” EPIC.org, May 9, 2017, https://epic.org/privacy/internet/ftc/samsung/.
25. “EPIC—Samsung ‘SmartTV’ Complaint,” EPIC.org, May 9, 2017, https://epic.org/privacy/internet/ftc/samsung; “Samsung Privacy Policy,” Samsung, February 10, 2015, http://www.samsung.com/us/common/privacy.html; “Nuance Communications, Inc. Privacy Policy General Information,” Nuance, December 2015, https://www.nuance.com/about-us/company-policies/privacy-policies.html.
26. Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, “Connected Televisions,” Pub. L. No. 1116, § 35, 22948.20-2298.25, 2015, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1116.
27. Megan Wollerton, “Voice Control Comes to the Forefront of the Smart Home,” CNET, December 1, 2014, https://www.cnet.com/news/voice-control-roundup; David Katzmaier, “Think Smart TV Is Dumb? Samsung Aims to Change Your Mind by Controlling Your Gear,” CNET, April 14, 2016, https://www.cnet.com/news/think-smart-tv-is-dumb-samsung-aims-to-change-your-mind-by-controlling-your-gear; David Pierce, “Soon, You’ll Be Able to Control Every Corner of Your Smart Home with a Single Universal Remote,” Wired, January 7, 2016, https://www.wired.com/2016/01/smart-home-universal-remote.
28. “VIZIO to Pay $2.2 Million to FTC, State of New Jersey to Settle Charges It Collected Viewing Histories on 11 Million Smart Televisions Without Users’ Consent,” Federal Trade Commission, February 6, 2017, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/02/vizio-pay-22-million-ftc-state-new-jersey-settle-charges-it; Nick Visser, “Vizio to Pay Millions After Secretly Spying on Customers, Selling Viewer Data,” Huffington Post, February 7, 2017, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vizio-settlement_us_589962 dee4b0c1284f27e534.
29. Lesley Fair, “What Vizio Was Doing Behind the TV Screen,” Federal Trade Commission, February 6, 2017, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2017/02/what-vizio-was-doing-behind-tv-screen.
30. Maureen K. Ohlhausen, “Concurring Statement of Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen—In the Matter of Vizio, Inc.—Matter No. 1623024,” Federal Trade Commission, February 6, 2017, https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1070773/vizio_concurring_statement_of_chairman_ohlhausen_2-6-17.pdf.
31. EPIC.org, “Federal Trade Commission—In the Matter of Genesis Toys and Nuance Communications—Complaint and Request for Investigation, Injunction and Other Relief,” December 6, 2016, https://epic.org/privacy/kids/EPIC-IPR-FTC-Genesis-Complaint.pdf; Kate Cox, “These Toys Don’t Just Listen to Your Kid; They Send What They Hear to a Defense Contractor,” Consumerist, December 6, 2016, https://consumerist.com/2016/12/06/these-toys-dont-just-listen-to-your-kid-they-send-what-they-hear-to-a-defense-contractor.
32. “Federal Trade Commission—In the Matter of Genesis Toys.”
33. “Federal Trade Commission—In the Matter of Genesis Toys.” See also Jiri Havelka and Raimo Bakis, Systems and methods for facilitating communication using an interactive communication system, US20170013124 A1, filed July 6, 2015, and issued January 12, 2017, http://www.google.com/patents/US20170013124.
34. James Vlahos, “Barbie Wants to Get to Know Your Child,” New York Times, September 16, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/magazine/barbie-wants-to-get-to-know-your-child.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news; Evie Nagy, “After the Fracas Over Hello Barbie, ToyTalk Responds to Its Critics,” Fast Company, May 23, 2015, https://www.fastcompany.com/3045676/after-the-fracas-over-hello-barbie-toytalk-responds-to-its-critics; Mike Krieger, “Big Barbie Is Watching You: Meet the WiFi-Connected Doll That Talks to Your Kids & Records Them,” Zero Hedge, January 7, 2013, http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-23/big-barbie-watching-you-meet-wifi-connected-doll-talks-your-kids-records-them; Issie Lapowsky, “Pixar Vets Reinvent Speech Recognition So It Works for Kids,” Wired, September 25, 2014, https://www.wired.com/2014/09/toytalk; Tim Moynihan, “Barbie Has a New Super-Dope Dreamhouse That’s Voice-Activated and Connected to the Internet,” Wired, September 15, 2016, https://www.wired.com/2016/09/barbies-new-smart-home-crushing-hard; Irina D. Manta and David S. Olson, “Hello Barbie: First They Will Monitor You, Then They Will Discriminate Against You. Perfectly,” Alabama Law Review 135, no. 67 (2015), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2578815. See also “ToyTalk | Legal | Hello Barbie/Barbie Hello Dreamhouse Privacy Policy,” ToyTalk, March 30, 2017, https://www.toy talk.com/hellobarbie/privacy.
35. Moynihan, “Barbie Has a New Super-Dope Dreamhouse.”
36. Paul Ziobro and Joann S. Lublin, “Mattel Finds Its New CEO at Google,” Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2017.
37. James Vincent, “German Watchdog Tells Parents to Destroy Wi-Fi–Connected Doll Over Surveillance Fears,” Verge, February 17, 2017, http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/17/14647280/talking-doll-hack-cayla-german-government-ban; Thomas Claburn, “Smash Up Your Kid’s Bluetooth-Connected Cayla ‘Surveillance’ Doll, Germany Urges Parents,” Register, February 17, 2017, https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/02/17/cayla_doll_banned_in_germany; Hayley Tsukayama, “Mattel Has Canceled Plans for a Kid-Focused AI Device That Drew Privacy Concerns,” Washington Post, October 4, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/10/04/mattel-has-an-ai-device-to-soothe-babies-experts-are-begging-them-not-to-sell-it.
38. Frank Pasquale, “Will Amazon Take Over the World?” Boston Review, July 20, 2017, https://bostonreview.net/class-inequality/frank-pasquale-will-amazon-take-over-world; Lina M. Khan, “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” April 16, 2018, https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox.
39. Kevin McLaughlin et al., “Bezos Ordered Alexa App Push,” Information, November 16, 2016, https://www.theinformation.com/bezos-ordered-alexa-app-push; “The Real Reasons That Amazon’s Alexa May Become the Go-To AI for the Home,” Fast Company, April 8, 2016, https://www.fastcompany.com/3058721/app-economy/the-real-reasons-that-amazons-alexa-may-become-the-go-to-ai-for-the-home; “Amazon Lex—Build Conversation Bots,” Amazon Web Services, February 24, 2017, https//aws.amazon.com/lex.
40. “Dave Limp, Exec Behind Amazon’s Alexa.”
41. Aaron Tilley and Priya Anand, “Apple Loses Ground
to Amazon in Smart Home Deals with Builders,” Information, April 16, 2018, https://www.theinformation.com/articles/apple-loses-ground-to-amazon-in-smart-home-deals-with-builders.
42. Sapna Maheshwari, “Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do with It?” New York Times, March 31, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/business/media/amazon-google-privacy-digital-assistants.html.
43. Alex Hern, “Amazon to Release Alexa-Powered Smartglasses, Reports Say,” Guardian, September 20, 2017, http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/20/amazon-alexa-smartglasses-google-glass-snapchat-spectacles-voice-assistant; Scott Gillum, “Why Amazon Is the New Google for Buying,” MediaInsider, September 14, 2017, https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/307348/why-amazon-is-the-new-google-for-buying.html; Mike Shields, “Amazon Looms Quietly in Digital Ad Landscape,” Wall Street Journal, October 6, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-looms-quietly-in-digital-ad-landscape-1475782113;
44. Keith Naughton and Spencer Soper, “Alexa, Take the Wheel: Ford Models to Put Amazon in Driver Seat,” Bloomberg.com, January 5, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-05/steering-wheel-shopping-arrives-as-alexa-hitches-ride-with-ford; Ryan Knutson and Laura Stevens, “Amazon and Google Consider Turning Smart Speakers into Home Phones,” Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-google-dial-up-plans-to-turn-smart-speakers-into-home-phones-1487154781; Kevin McLaughlin, “AWS Takes Aim at Call Center Industry,” Information, February 28, 2017, https://www.theinformation.com/aws-takes-aim-at-call-center-industry.
45. Lucas Matney, “Siri-Creator Shows Off First Public Demo of Viv, ‘The Intelligent Interface for Everything,’” TechCrunch, http://social.techcrunch.com/2016/05/09/siri-creator-shows-off-first-public-demo-of-viv-the-intelligent-interface-for-everything.
46. Shoshana Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power (New York: Basic, 1988), 381.
47. Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine, 362–86.
48. Zuboff, 383.
49. The five-factor model has become the standard since the 1980s because it lends itself easily to computational analysis. The model is based on a taxonomy of personality traits along five dimensions: extraversion (the tendency to be outgoing and energetic while seeking stimulation in the company of others), agreeableness (warmth, compassion, and cooperativeness), conscientiousness (the tendency to exhibit self-discipline, organization, and achievement orientation), neuroticism (the susceptibility to unpleasant emotions), and openness to experience (the tendency to be intellectually curious, creative, and open to feelings).
50. Jennifer Golbeck, Cristina Robles, and Karen Turner, “Predicting Personality with Social Media,” in CHI ’11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA ’11 (New York: ACM, 2011), 253–62, https://doi.org/10.1145/1979742.1979614.
51. Jennifer Golbeck, Cristina Robles, Michon Edmondson, and Karen Turner, “Predicting Personality from Twitter,” in 2011 IEEE Third International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and 2011 IEEE Third International Conference on Social Computing (PASSAT-SocialCom 2011), ed. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Computer Society (Boston: IEEE, 2011).
52. Golbeck, Robles, and Turner, “Predicting Personality with Social Media.”
53. Daniele Quercia et al., “Our Twitter Profiles, Our Selves: Predicting Personality with Twitter,” IEEE, 2011, 180–85, https://doi.org/10.1109/PASSAT/SocialCom.2011.26.
54. From 2010, the Psychometrics Centre was a “strategic research network” within Cambridge University, with research alliances across the university’s varied disciplines. As the results of this growing body of work were pulled into the orbit of surveillance capitalism’s supply operations, it is worth noting, the Psychometrics Centre was invited to relocate to the University’s Judge School of Business. The Judge School’s embrace of the centre was explicitly linked to its commercial prospects and above all to the prospects of depth surplus and personality prediction as they could be applied to surveillance capitalism’s prediction requirements. For example, in announcing the integration of the centre into the Judge School’s campus and research program, its director noted, “Today, the digital traces we leave behind allow machines to treat all of our online activity as a ‘test.’ Our Facebook Likes, the words we use in tweets and emails and the images we upload all provide ‘items’ from which the machine can learn who we are, what drives and motivates us and how we differ from each other. Psychometrics is at the forefront of developments in ambient intelligence and the Internet of Things, powering connected environments that are sensitive and responsive to our needs.” The school’s director of business development shared even more pointed observations regarding the immediate commercial utility of data once produced solely for the promise of personal feedback: “The Centre’s expertise in assessment, measurement, and prediction will enhance the Cambridge Judge Business School’s ability to push forward the boundaries of value creation for its global client network. We will… deliver world-leading support in some of the fascinating challenges of modern commerce.…” See “Psychometrics Centre Moves to Cambridge Judge Business School—the Psychometrics Centre,” University of Cambridge, July 19, 2016, http://www.psychometrics.cam.ac.uk/news/Move_to_JBS; “Dr David Stillwell, Deputy Director—the Psychometrics Centre,” March 9, 2017, http://www.psychometrics.cam.ac.uk/about-us/directory/david-stillwell.
55. Bobbie Johnson, “Privacy No Longer a Social Norm, Says Facebook Founder,” Guardian, January 10, 2010, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/jan/11/facebook-privacy.
56. Yoram Bachrach et al., “Personality and Patterns of Facebook Usage,” Microsoft Research, January 1, 2012, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/personality-and-patterns-of-facebook-usage.
57. Michal Kosinski, David Stillwell, and Thore Graepel, “Private Traits and Attributes Are Predictable from Digital Records of Human Behavior,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110, no. 15 (2013): 5802–5.
58. G. Park et al., “Automatic Personality Assessment Through Social Media Language,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 108, no. 6 (2015): 934–52.
59. Michal Kosinski et al., “Mining Big Data to Extract Patterns and Predict Real-Life Outcomes,” Stanford Graduate School of Business 21, no. 4 (2016): 1; Michal Kosinski, “Dr Michal Kosinski,” February 28, 2018, http://www.michalkosinski.com.
60. Park et al., “Automatic Personality Assessment.” See also Peter J. Rentfrow et al., “Divided We Stand: Three Psychological Regions of the United States and Their Political, Economic, Social, and Health Correlates,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 105, no. 6 (2013): 996–1012; Dejan Markovikj, Sonja Gievska, Michal Kosinski, and David Stillwell, “Mining Facebook Data for Predictive Personality Modeling,” Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, 2013, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/gsb/files/conf-presentations/miningfacebook.pdf; H. Andrew Schwartz et al., “Predicting Individual Well-Being Through the Language of Social Media,” in Biocomputing 2016: Proceedings of the Pacific Symposium, 2016, 516–27, https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814749411_0047; H. Andrew Schwartz et al., “Extracting Human Temporal Orientation from Facebook Language,” Proceedings of the 2015 Conference of the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics: Human Language Technologies, 2015, http://www.academia.edu/15692796/Extracting_Human_Temporal_Orientation_from_Facebook_Language; David M. Greenberg et al., “The Song Is You: Preferences for Musical Attribute Dimensions Reflect Personality,” Social Psychological and Personality Science 7, no. 6 (2016): 597–605, https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550616641473; Michal Kosinski, David Stillwell, and Thore Graepel, “Private Traits and Attributes Are Predictable from Digital Records of Human Behavior,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110, no. 15 (2013): 5802–5.
61. Wu Youyou, Michal Kosinski, and David Stillwell, “Com
puter-Based Personality Judgments Are More Accurate Than Those Made by Humans,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, no. 4 (2015): 1036–40, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1418680112.
62. Tsung-Yi Chen, Meng-Che Tsai, and Yuh-Min Chen, “A User’s Personality Prediction Approach by Mining Network Interaction Behaviors on Facebook,” Online Information Review 40, no. 7 (2016): 913–37.
63. Sam Biddle, “Facebook Uses Artificial Intelligence to Predict Your Future Actions for Advertisers, Says Confidential Document,” Intercept, April 13, 2018, https://theintercept.com/2018/04/13/facebook-advertising-data-artificial-intelligence-ai.
64. The five-factor model is popular in part because it lends itself to easy assessment with simple protocols. The traits that it describes enjoy face validity: commonsensical and readily observed. For example, someone who is well organized is likely to score high on conscientiousness. A person who prefers to be surrounded by groups of friends is likely to score high on extraversion, and so on. Similarly, Kosinski and his coauthors point out the close association between Facebook “likes” and the five trait dimensions: “Participants with high openness to experience tend to ‘like’ Salvador Dali, meditation, or TED talks.…” These correlations are obvious and thus easy to score, program, and scale. Human judges cannot compete on scale, but they exceed the machines in scope. Kosinski and his colleagues know this, acknowledging that human perception is “flexible” and “able to capture many subconscious cues unavailable to machines.” See Youyou, Kosinski, and Stillwell, “Computer-Based Personality Judgments Are More Accurate.”
65. CaPPr, Interview with Michal Kosinski on Personality and Facebook Likes, May 20, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJGuWKqwYRk.
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