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Comment by vardalab | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, now some future LLM from Google is a partner in your conversation, lol. "This call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance and training purposes, and for future llm training"

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They make it quite clear in Waymos that nothing/no one is listening until you call them or they have a safety need to interrupt. I've never experienced that, but from those I've spoken to that have, apparently it's very immediately obvious, as it should be, and rare.

Just wait until someone installs a listening device somewhere in the cab. Doesn’t need to be Waymo doing the listening. Target Waymos that operate around financially important areas like tech and finance companies and profit.

That can be done in any cab. Heck a driver would have a much easier time covertly recording you.

The driver might object to a passenger bugging their car, though.

True. But less likely to be able to deploy at scale. Waymo cleaners I’m guessing will be far less likely than drivers to care about keeping their cab super clean and noticing these things.

Plus as per this article, the rider is way less likely to talk important business in front of the driver - hence Waymo being ideal.

They do record video though, so you'd have to figure out a way to install it such that you aren't suspected of installing it. Plus how do you get it back? You could put in something with a cell modem, but then how do you power it more. There are USB ports tho, so you could ride in the front seat and make it look like a charging cable or battery that you just forgot, but really it's a listening device with a cell modem. For all that effort, you'd want some serious ROI and youd want to do some math on the chances you get something actionable that isn't going to get you investigated by the SEC anyway, and then further, you can't do it a bunch of times because that's really how you get caught. Nah, better to actually get employed by a company, and the higher up you go, the bigger the crimes you can commit!

Sounds like something out of Billions.

They also made it quite clear that their AI speaker thingy’s microphone was physically disconnected when the switch was off. Turned out the switch only physically disconnected the ‘mic active’ LED.

It’s not clear the circumstances that they do record and monitor, but they definitely do monitor sometimes. They’ve reported crimes that happen in the Waymos, like this incident where they reported some teenagers that had an illegal firearm: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49672549

That same story mentions another instance where some kids had alcohol and toy guns. So maybe there is AI that detects firearms? And then a human intervenes? Its not very clear.

They always have video, but audio until theres some kind of emergency situation and they call you.

The conversation was about audio recording (conversation). That was determinable by video, not audio.

recording conversations can be eavesdropping very easily in all party consent states but there aren't generally laws against secretly video recording people (besides in specific intimate situations like bathrooms).

no they have a call center like setup where workers monitor the cars and make adjustments when the cars make stupid decisions, but they're monitoring inside the cars all the time. I could tell you how I know but then I'd have to.. you know

Yes...given the spotless record of these sorts of companies in zealously guarding our privacy it would be unthinkable that Waymos is listening in to our conversations. /s

Seriously.. how are people so gullible? This is how it always starts…

Considering the rate I'm being downvoted, gullible seems too kind.

If you be extra polite fire to this, does that makes it Google’s Basilisk?

Then again I recently told a friend of mine to stop saying mean things about China because it might offend my car, soooo…

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