Google Forgot to Mention...

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Emailed on February 22, 2019 in The Friday Forward

Google says it forgot to mention that it included a microphone in a security product it began selling in 2017, but blames the omission on an error.

When the company’s Nest Secure home alarm system hit the market, its product information didn’t mention a microphone.

As recently as January, the product specs for the system’s Nest Guard hub, which controls home-alarm sensors, still didn’t include any indication of a microphone.

Then, earlier in February, Google noted that its voice assistant feature would be available on the Nest Guard.

Google said in a statement that the microphone wasn’t intended to be a secret and should have been disclosed.

The company said people have to specifically turn on the microphone for it to be listening. 

Hot take: the AI apocalypse will not come in the form of humanoid robots, but rather your thermostat.

Sean Steigerwald