I Think I Can Trust Alexa, But How Much?

Abstract

As our society becomes increasingly data-driven, it becomes more imperative that we strive to keep our data safe and in hands we trust. Software and businesses collect and utilize vast amounts of data to operate. Most people find it difficult to function in today's society without smartphones, given the ubiquity of social media. Social media is an example of a technology for which people have generally accepted that some of their data may be visible to the developers, and possibly the public, due to enough confidence in its security; lack of foresight to be concerned; or perhaps obliviousness to the consequences of a data breach. I consider newer technologies such as artificial intelligence personal assistants, which can behave most effectively by learning first about humans, or more specifically, the individual(s) each one serves; in other words, they require user data to perform well. Like social media, while usage of these products incurs risks, people still use them, which introduces a problem where the users of a product are in a position to be taken advantage of by attackers or the product's company. In my STS thesis, I aim to understand what factors are causing people to adopt artifical intelligence (AI) personal assistants and Internet of Things (IoT) devices despite the risks, as well as what actions different actors are taking or should be taking.