Amazon – Surveillance state.

Amazon experiments with privacy.

• Amazon released a series of products and services in what looks like an experiment to see how much privacy users are willing to surrender in return for fun and convenience.
• Amazon only speaks to the market like this once a year meaning that every event is loaded with both hardware and software products, updates, and services.
  • First, Astro: which is a small dog-sized robot on three wheels that carries a display and a periscope camera as well as a series of detectors that can monitor your home.
  • It also has two cupholders on its back for those that are too lazy to carry their own coffee or deliver it to another member of the household.
  • The key to this product will be the intelligence that Amazon has infused into the device.
  • Given Amazon’s history here, I am not optimistic (see Google comments below), but the device will be upgradeable as Amazon improves.
  • No one is really sure what this device is for other than having a dog that doesn’t need to be house trained, which is why it is going out as an invitation-only product at launch.
  • This basically means that Amazon doesn’t know what it is for either, but is hoping that its fan base will figure something out.
  • Second, Echo Show 15: which is an upgrade to the Echo show 10 except that this time, it is designed to be attached to the wall.
  • This adds complications in terms of power and even the demo unit had an ugly wire going down the wall from behind the device.
  • It can do all of the things that the previous Echo Shows can do but I think it is neither fish nor fowl.
  • It is not big enough to be a TV or a picture frame, but probably too big to go the backsplash in the kitchen.
  • Another experiment by Amazon and only time will tell to see if it sticks.
  • Third, Glow: which is aimed at kids and, in addition to its onboard screen and camera, projects a 19-inch display onto the surface with which kids can interact.
  • Distant relatives can also interact with the on-device display while on a video call creating an enclosed system.
  • This will also require an additional subscription from Amazon for the content and apps on the device.
  • Again, this looks like another experiment but it may prove to be a good addition for users with distant relatives and who are already all-in on the Amazon ecosystem.
  • Fourth, Ring: Not to be outdone by 1^st party products, Ring also made a number of announcements.
  • The concept home drone camera is back and this time is being made available to the faithful on an invite-only basis presumably for beta testing.
  • Also announced was a Ring Alarm Pro which is an update to its already shipping home security products.
  • This combines the Ring security system with an Eero router gibing internet backup, local processing, and storage for Ring cameras.
  • The base station stitches together the cameras, door locks, bells, motion detectors, smoke alarms, and so on to provide an integrated home security service.
  • This can be upgraded with a $20 subscription that enables cloud back-up but also professional monitoring by humans.
  • This competes directly with the home security services that are currently on offer but with much more machine intelligence as well as more compromises on privacy.
  • The home security market is ripe for disruption but there needs to be a balance between security and privacy.
  • Here, Amazon allows you to tailor this balance to one’s requirements but only time will tell how popular this proves to be.
  • Fifth Processing: Amazon’s efforts in silicon are bearing fruit with a new processor that improves Alexa’s ability to process voice requests locally.
  • Google has been doing this for more than two years which is an indicator that far from being a leader in voice recognition and AI, Amazon is way behind the leaders in terms of ability in this area.
  • However, its retail juggernaut has ensured that it is the market leader in digital assistants in the home.
• Amazon is following its tried and tested strategy of chucking mud at the wall to see what sticks.
• As a result, I do not expect to see all of these products still around in a couple of years as those that don’t work will get quickly killed off.
• These announcements are mainly an experiment to see to what degree Amazon can invade its user’s privacy before they push back.
• Ring has had problems in this area before and with cameras inside homes relaying video and sound, security becomes a company-breaking issue.
• It will only take one well publicised and compromising hack to set this initiative back years.
• This is why I am generally pretty cautious about this experiment in terms of it taking off in a big way for a while.
• I remain unenthused by Amazon’s share price, as the shares are going broadly sideways as the fundamentals grow much faster and bring the valuation to more reasonable levels.
• I have no urge to get involved with the shares yet.