Estate Living Magazine Precinct Living - Issue 33 | Page 61

It might seem innocent to tell your bot or virtual assistant
(think Siri, Alexa, and the like) about how much you hate
traffic, or love to buy a specific product. Sure, it might seem
innocent, but you never know where that data is going to end
up. At the less scary end of the privacy intrusion spectrum is
an online store sending you specials about that product you
love. But it can get scarier – especially when the cyber world
meets the real world.
Trust the machine
More seriously, though, a survey by analytics specialist
company SAS found that 47% of respondents said they would
rather go to an AI doctor than a human one. Of course there
must be some sample bias there because the survey was
online, but even so. Already, the AI healthcare market is
on track to hit more than US$6 billion by 2021. This has
led some to think that AI-driven bots could replace
apps as the next big thing. Think about it – instead of
downloading an app to buy from Amazon, to summon
an Uber or to swipe right on Tinder, you can have a
bot doing it. The bot becomes your interface to the
digital world.
Think through this scenario. If you regularly ask for traffic
conditions at a specific time of day on a specific route, that
tells anyone who may want to know that you will not be at
home at that time, and – possibly more scary – that you will
be driving down a dark, lonely road at a specific time in your
shiny new SUV. You don’t need a lot of imagination to work
out what smart criminals can do with that info.
Yes, this might seem extreme, but just because you’re
paranoid, doesn’t mean ‘they’ aren’t out to get you. So, while
embracing the AI life does offer advantages, remain vigilant in
how you use it, and how much you ‘trust the machine’. When
the bots rise up, they could very well use that information
against you.
Perhaps then that naked selfie you sent may stand you in
good stead. Or not!
Iwan Pienaar
Imagine Siri on steroids but only better – and able to
understand what you are talking about.
Take CNN’s Kik bot as an example. Targeting young readers,
it focuses on giving them the basics on big news stories. They
can learn more by tapping a series of conversation prompts
that offer specific details about what has been going on, etc.
With several rule-based chatbot tools available for download,
more companies and people can create bots themselves.
Misplaced trust?
But, as with anything good, there’s bound to be a dark side,
and the same is true for bots. South Africans have a better
sense of privacy and security than most, but we still fall under
the spell of technology when it makes things so convenient.
Already your mobile device is storing a wealth of personal
information. It’s tempting to think that it’s only celebs and
public figures who need to be careful about their personal
info because – really – who cares what brand of toothpaste
you use, or where you go to gym?
www.estate-living.co.za
| 59