Amazon’s Echo Look is a minefield of AI and privacy concerns
Computer scientist Andrew Ng once described the power of contemporary AI as the ability to automate any mental task that takes a human “less than one second of thought.” It’s a rule of thumb that’s worth remembering when you think about Amazon’s new Echo Look — a smart camera with a built-in AI assistant. Amazon says the Echo Look will help users dress and give them fashion advice, but what other judgements could it make?
Think about it. If you pass a stranger in the street, how much information do you get with a second’s glance? You can probably make some decent estimates about their height, weight, age, race, and gender. If they were far enough along in pregnancy, you’d know. And you could take a stab at other, more contentious…
