Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, and Mark Fuccio take a MacVoices Live! look at Amazon's potential plan to charge for its AI assistant, Alexa, and its implications. The discussion also touches on the US ban on Kaspersky software due to security concerns, lack of transparency, and AI companies scraping websites despite privacy settings. The importance of ethical considerations in AI development and the challenges faced in the evolving landscape of technology are fodder for both positive and negative viewpoints.

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Show Notes:

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: Smart Assistants and Security Concerns

00:28 Amazon's Potential Subscription Fee for Alexa

04:40 Impact on Apple and Siri's Competitiveness

06:34 User Behavior and Value Perception of Smart Assistants

12:51 Frustrations and Annoyances with Alexa

16:42 Concerns and Speculations about Kaspersky's Reputation

22:52 AI Companies and Website Scraping Controversy

Links:

Amazon Could Charge Up to $10/Month for Alexa

https://www.macrumors.com/2024/06/21/amazon-paid-alexa-plan/

US bans sale of Kaspersky software citing security risk from Russia

https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/20/us-bans-kaspersky-software-security-risk-russia/?guccounter=1

AI companies are reportedly still scraping websites despite protocols meant to block them

https://www.engadget.com/ai-companies-are-reportedly-still-scraping-websites-despite-protocols-meant-to-block-them-132308524.html

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