I cannot help but finding all of this far-fetched.
Privacy concerns with smart devices in an ever-more-connected world are valid, for sure. And I have no doubt at all that Amazon and others have no compunction whatsoever about collecting just as much data as they can about you — usually for the sake of selling you more stuff. I used to work for a major health insurer. I KNOW they will happily use any data they can against you as well.
But…
What I’m not convinced of is that smart devices of ten years from now will have insight into our lives that is accurate to the degree necessary to enable the scenarios described here. Let’s consider just how improbable it is that smart devices will have sufficient insight into your diet to make use of that data in, say, a healthcare context.
“Alexa, pop my popcorn,” works because even across brands, microwaveable popcorn is SOMEWHAT consistent on how long it has to be microwaved for. And whatever variation does exist can be worked around by listening for the pops — something a smart microwave theoretically could do. i.e. “Alexa, pop my popcorn,” is a phrase with a lot of semantic meaning and it’s relatively easy to automate. So in this case, SURE… Amazon will know I ate popcorn. But how will it gather insight from other uses of the microwave that are not as well-defined? Will you really say “Alexa, reheat my homemade chana masala?” Or will you look at how much you’re reheating, estimate that it will take two minutes, and ask her to nuke your food for a certain amount of time? How much insight into your diet does Amazon glean from that interaction? Not much.
How about cooking on the stovetop or the oven — two things that are far more common in my own home than using the microwave. What will they know of WHAT is in the oven or in the pots and pans? Nothing. Even with Alexa listening to know who is in attendance at the meal, what will they know of who ate what? What will they know of portion sizes? Nothing.
If I don’t do my grocery shopping on Amazon (I don’t) or Whole Foods (which they own; and I don’t), what will they know of what kind of food I buy? What do they know of the farmer’s market? What do they know of community-supported-agriculture?
What will they know of what you ordered at a restaurant? At a taco truck? What will they know of how much you ate and how much came home in a doggy bag?
My problem here is that, “Alexa pop my popcorn,” is pretty close to the only example that actually WORKS (maybe) if you want to frighten people into thinking that their microwave might put them on a diet someday.
I have no great love for Amazon. As I said up front, I have no doubt that they’d happily collect and weaponize as much data as they are capable of. I don’t even doubt that we’re well on our way to dystopia — or that Amazon plays a role in that. I just don’t believe it looks anything like what’s been described here.