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Simfin

online safety and digital citizenship specialist

 Tagged with Alexa


03 July 2023

A Scottish mum who received a heart transplant has told how her six-year-old daughter saved her life twice using a smart speaker.

Emma Anderson, from Robroyston in Glasgow, was 15 when she was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

From a young age, her daughter Darcey knew her mum had a "sore heart" and she could call for help on Alexa.

Now Darcey has used Alexa twice to raise the alarm when her 27-year-old mum has been unwell.

"I set up the Alexa so that if I passed out or was feeling unwell all she had to do was say, 'Alexa, call help', and that would call my mum who lives around the corner," Ms Anderson said.

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07 January 2020

Earlier that summer, the information technology department at SLU had installed about 2,300 of the smart speakers—one for each of the university’s residence hall rooms, making the school the first in the country to do so. Each device was pre-programmed with answers to about 130 SLU-specific questions, ranging from library hours to the location of the registrar’s office (the school dubbed this “AskSLU”). The devices also included the basic voice “skills” available on other Dots, including alarms and reminders, general information, and the ability to stream music.

 

So, why are people concerned?

 

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09 December 2019

'Eva Blum-Dumontet, a senior researcher at Privacy International, which obtained the contract, said the issue with the partnership was not about “data sharing” but about “transparency”. Several sections have been redacted by the Department of Health and Social Care to protect Amazon’s commercial interests.'

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