时间:2025-04-02 13:09:57 来源:网络整理编辑:焦點
Alexa, can you wake me up for my 8 a.m. class?St. Louis University in Missouri is equipping all its
Alexa, can you wake me up for my 8 a.m. class?
St. Louis University in Missouri is equipping all its dorm rooms — more than 2,300 of them — with Amazon Echo Dots that are customized to SLU-specific questions: sports, concerts, speakers on campus, and other collegiate activities.
SEE ALSO:Alexa and Cortana are finally on speaking termsThis is the first university campus to implement personal smart speakers (other higher education institutions like Arizona State University have put devices in shared student spaces), but this is really part of a greater trend of smart speakers taking over communal areas.
“Every minute we can save our students from having to search for the information they need online is another minute that they can spend focused on what matters most: their education," David Hakanson, the university's vice president and chief information officer, said in the announcement earlier this month.
The university conducted a pilot test of the technology last semester in select residence halls, and the results clearly came out positive.
SLU now dedicates an entire webpage called Amazon and Saint Louis University to introduce the program, outfitted with frequently asked questions, a statement on privacy, and a list of SLU-specific questions students can ask the device.
There's even a promotional video welcoming the devices to campus:
Although the privacy statement (akin and linked to Amazon's Alexa for Business frequently asked questions page) says questions will not be tracked, audio will not get recorded, and that no personal information is linked to the devices, this still seems like a privacy scandal waiting to happen.
Even if Amazon and SLU both promise to not track attributable or specific student information (both willbe collecting broad-sweeping data though), cyber-savvy interlopers — students included — are surely going to try hacking the devices and some data will mostly likely be leaked or collected.
A simple search of "how to hack alexa dot" yields thousands of results, with alarming links to stories like "A Hack can Turn an Amazon Echo into a 'Wiretap'."
Cyberthreats already pose a massive threat for universities. New York University, with one of the best cybersecurity programs in the country for example, was targeted by Russian hackers and as of March 2017 had hundreds of open IT risks, many of them categorized as a "high risk."
Alexa is now just another target.
So while this may increase convenience and quality of life in the immediacy, the long-term effects (casual things like identity theft, privacy breeches, etc.) might need a deeper evaluation.
It isimportant to note, however, that these concerns are not new or specific to the new SLU partnership with Amazon and is instead a privacy concern for device users worldwide.
"What is most exciting to me is the enhanced connectivity to the campus community these devices will provide,” said Kent Porterfield, SLU's vice president for student development, in the announcement. “The more connected and engaged students are, the more they learn and benefit from their SLU experience.”
The university, according to the AWS business frequently asked questions page, has the ability to collect information from the SLU-specific questions, which will be interesting to see whether that changes how the university engages with its students.
Who needs new friends when Alexa's around?
TopicsAmazon AlexaAmazon EchoArtificial Intelligence
Two states took big steps this week to get rid of the tampon tax2025-04-02 13:03
渣叔:薩拉赫PK馬內不算啥 想想2022世界杯結束後2025-04-02 12:59
記者:女足這個冠軍或許會讓一些雷厲風行的改革變得柔和2025-04-02 12:52
巴黎前瞻:上季冠亞軍天王之戰 梅西急需洗刷質疑2025-04-02 12:43
Early Apple2025-04-02 12:36
王霜發文確認決賽將複出:就在今晚 ,看我們的2025-04-02 11:53
女足國腳年薪一般在十幾萬至一百多萬元 在世界屬較高水平2025-04-02 11:27
聚勒經紀人:他留不留拜仁都挺好 讓我想起克羅斯2025-04-02 11:17
'The Flying Bum' aircraft crashes during second test flight2025-04-02 10:37
鬥誌滿滿!薩拉赫馬內緊急回歸利物浦 盼出戰藍狐2025-04-02 10:23
Chinese gymnastics team horrifies crowd with human jump rope2025-04-02 13:06
黃健翔徐陽解說落淚 :男足是砸鍋的!這才是中國足球應該有的精神2025-04-02 13:05
我們是冠軍!中國女足高舉冠軍獎杯 開心慶祝(gif)2025-04-02 12:19
唐佳麗乘坐航班飛抵北倫敦 當地中國球迷接機迎接英雄(圖)2025-04-02 12:01
Nate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rape2025-04-02 11:15
王霜發文確認決賽將複出:就在今晚,看我們的2025-04-02 11:09
水慶霞神換人助女足登頂 無孫雯力挺恐被足協放棄2025-04-02 10:50
中國女足第九次問鼎亞洲杯 時隔16年再登亞洲之巔2025-04-02 10:40
This weird squid looks like it has googly eyes, guys2025-04-02 10:29
熱議女足絕殺韓國奪冠:水指導換人絕絕子!這場永載史冊!2025-04-02 10:28