Private Smarts: Can Digital Assistants Work without Prying into Our Lives?

Whether it is used to out-bluff world poker champions or schedule hairdresser appointments in a (mostly) convincing human voice, AI and its underlying machine-learning algorithms keep making big strides in their capabilities--and into ever-more intimate spaces of our lives. And, like any technological feat predicated on the collection and analysis of massive data sets, some of these breakthroughs come with significant privacy risks. New data-collecting techniques, however, could enable researchers to better preserve users' privacy yet still glean valuable insights from their personal information. Take digital assistants, where the fruits of AI innovation are increasingly manifested. Today, Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant distinguish between the voices of different people in your home, and can use these voice signatures to deliver personalized traffic reports and schedule appointments in the relevant speaker's calendar.