From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:16:55 +0200 (CEST), Nomen Nescio <nobody@dizum.com> wrote:

Message-ID: <66e01d6501ac7ce3067c227b2cb4aeeb@dizum.com>
Injection-Info: sewer.dizum.com - 2001::1/128

just curious . . . this url does open in tor browser, and is considerably longer than the op's quoted excerpt, however, by the looks of it, the body snatchers have already taken over the vast majority of the formerly "human" population worldwide, especially in the money centers (cities), no problem, since resistance was futile, but not any more, "pod people" rule the world . . .

For many in the tech industry, AI recording tools have become a way
of life.
....
<https://sfstandard.com/2025/08/05/ai-wearables-recording-devices/>

(using Tor Browser 14.5.5) https://sfstandard.com/2025/08/05/ai-wearables-recording-devices/

Culture
This conversation is being recorded -- and so is everything else you do in San
Francisco
AI wearables are quietly recording everything. Is it legal? And do you consent?
Warning, San Francisco: That cute necklace your coworker is wearing might be >recording you.
A crop of startups is selling stealthy AI-powered recording devices and software
that's becoming increasingly popular across Silicon Valley. Regardless of whether
you're in a contentious work meeting, having coffee on a first date, or enjoying
the wild abandon of a house party, there's a growing likelihood that someone is
listening.
"My general sense is that we should assume we are being recorded at all times,"
said Clara Brenner, a partner at venture capital firm Urban Innovation Fund. "Of
course, this is a horrible way to live your life."
Some of these devices are wearables masquerading as fashionable pendants, like
those made by Limitless, or discreet lapel pins, like those by Plaud. Bee has a
device that resembles a Fitbit. Others are apps that run quietly in the >background of phones and laptops, like Cluely, Granola, and OpenAI's new ChatGPT
Record feature.
It can be hard to know when one is being used. Some devices flash or light up
when they're recording; others glow when they're switched off. Most automatically
generate AI transcripts and audio recordings of everything with which their owner
interacts.
Bright yellow sun rays extend from the right, set against a solid light blue >background, creating a simple, bold graphic design.
Today's stories straight to your inbox
Everything you need to know to start your day.
Sign up now!
Why would anyone voluntarily wear these roving surveillance devices? It's not
necessarily to catch people saying things they'll regret. Enthusiasts report that
the recorders help them stay "present" in meetings, outsource busywork, and act
as a perpetually available collaborator.
But many who work in offices where the devices are becoming the norm report that
they have begun to self-censor, worried about every offhand comment being etched
into an AI-generated transcript. Meanwhile, lawyers warn that it's only a matter
of time before these nonconsensual records and audio files become liabilities in
court.
The always-listening crowd
For many in the tech industry, AI recording tools have become a way of life. >At a Dolores Park picnic this summer, a group of founders chatted over snacks >and cans of sparkling water. A closer inspection revealed glowing LED lights from
AI note-taking devices -- a red burst from a silver clip at someone's collar, a
blue ray from a triangular pendant, and a white blip from yet another neckpiece.
This is the new normal, said Anith Patel, founder of the wearable AI note-taker
Buddi, whose own collar accessory flashed blue. "At a picnic, you meet 10-plus >people, so it's better to get it documented so you remember," Patel said. >Permission to record is "just assumed," he added.
Nicholas Lopez said AI recording tools have given him a "second brain" for >building his AI "superconsultant" out of tech incubator Founders Garage. His $159
Plaud pin helps detail conversation topics, highlights, and takeaways. >"[It's] like having a modern-day Rockefeller Rolodex that keeps track of my >network, my meetings, my entire life," he said, referencing the late banker David
Rockefeller's custom-designed 5-foot-high filing system.
Outside of work, Lopez has started taking his Plaud to house parties as a kind >of social experiment that allows him to relive nights out. "People come over and
say crazy things into it," Lopez said.
AI wearables have become so ubiquitous that people rarely comment, said Jeff >Wilson, a VC and cofounder of No Cap, a Y Combinator–backed startup building an
AI-powered VC investing tool.
A stylized sauna scene with a seated woman wrapped in a towel and a standing man
in a towel holding up his hands, surrounded by steam.
Source: Illustration by Bratislav Milenkovic
During a coffee meeting, a Limitless pendant hung from Wilson's chest; his Meta
Ray-Bans were in their case. Beside him, Pat Santiago, founder of Accelr8, a >coliving startup, had a Buddi pinned to his collar that he uses to gather intel
at networking parties and pitch nights. No Cap processes the data he captures >with his collar recorder to surface early-stage investments, Santiago explained.
"The AI can see patterns that we can't."
When a reporter from The Standard added an old-fashioned audio recorder to the
table, there were four devices recording the conversation. "I don't think people
care that much anymore," Wilson said.
But some users acknowledge that Silicon Valley's newfound recording culture has
them on edge. Even a confidential chat in the back of a coffee shop may not be
safe.
"I know a VC who records all in-person meetings on their watch, without telling
the other meeting participants," Brenner said. "It's an invasion of privacy and I
seriously disapprove of it."
For online meetings, Granola has become the AI-powered note-taking app of choice
for the investor class. Instead of joining meetings publicly as a bot, like >Otter.AI does, Granola runs locally on the user's device. The app syncs directly
with your calendar and begins transcribing when you have a meeting. Granola >wasn't intended to be a "stealth" app -- its website recommends always asking for
consent -- but many in the tech world don't bother.
"Some investors assume everyone is using one, so why be awkward and bring it
up?" Brenner said, who always makes it a point to ask for permission.
San Francisco-based human experience researcher Harvin Park has seen firsthand >how AI recording changes behavior. When you know the person will refer back to >their notes, "it's fundamentally a different conversation," he said.
"They often start speaking in prompts," he said. "They talk in a way that has >the AI remembering key details." For example, "One of the important things about
me is X," or "You should remember Y."
RayBan Meta glasses
Mark Zuckerberg unveils Meta's collaboration with Ray-Ban in 2023. | Source: >Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo
Just as smartphones, Slack, and microwavable salmon have forced the creation of
new office policies, so too are AI recorders changing workplace etiquette. Jarad
Johnson, CEO of Mostly Serious, a Missouri firm that builds websites and trains
businesses to use AI, said around a quarter of his clients are drafting or have
implemented AI recording policies.
"It's a big shift," he said.
Some of his clients have leaned in, buying AI wearables for entire teams, >particularly those in sales. One opted for always-on recording (Missouri is a one-
party consent state, meaning most recorded conversations are legal) and sends >transcripts to every participant. Another company rewrote its policy to tell >employees to assume that AI is recording everything.
Is this even legal?
The rules around recording permission differ by state. California's wiretapping
law requires everyone in a confidential conversation to give explicit consent
before being recorded in situations where there's a "reasonable expectation of
privacy."
"You could potentially be subject to criminal penalties if you record a >conversation and all parties haven't consented," said Catherine Crump, a >technology law expert at UC Berkeley.
Those building AI recording devices hope there's a gray area. Patel said his >Buddi device transcribes but does not record audio for that exact reason. >Related
California cops are breaking surveillance laws. Who's going to stop them? >They came for the AI boom. They're driving up the rent in a brutal market >Your next job interview may be with an AI recruiter
But Crump is unsure whether that level of hair-splitting would hold up in court,
since using a transcribing tool is not so different from hiring someone to >secretly listen in and take copious notes. Another open legal question is whether
the tech world's "reasonable expectations of privacy" have changed.
"If these bozos are wearing really obvious devices that clearly signal they are
recording, and you speak to them, that could constitute consent, even in a >private place," said Chris Hoofnagle, faculty director of the Berkeley Center for
Law & Technology.
In cases where AI-recorded transcripts are found, subsequent lawsuits will >determine whether the records themselves violate the law. Then, "the burden is on
the person who did the recording to prove that the other side consented," Crump
said.
For now, the responsibility for getting appropriate consent has largely fallen >on users, with companies distancing themselves from legal liability. An OpenAI >spokesperson told The Standard that users must get consent and obey local laws;
the company encourages this by placing a grayed-out reminder -- "ask before >recording others" -- beneath its red "record" button.
Granola cofounder Sam Stephensen said during an interview -- which he kicked off
by asking permission to use Granola to take notes -- that an experimental feature
enables users to send an automated message letting others know they're using note-
taking technology.
While many have resigned themselves to the slow erosion of personal privacy, >Confident Security CEO Jonathan Mortensen is fighting back. "I've had so many >calls where I've said, like, ‘Please don't record me,' and no one knows how to
turn off the recording or kick out the note-takers," Mortensen said.
In response, Mortensen's team spent July building Don't Record Me, an open- >source browser plugin that can detect illicit recordings and prevent them; one
feature utilizes adversarial AI in the form of high-frequency subsonic sounds >that are imperceptible to humans but scramble transcription tools.
"We're gonna give it away for free," Mortensen said. "The goal is not to be >heard by AI but to be heard by humans."
Eventually, it should work against wearables as well, and he's also developing a
mobile app.
For some, the last refuge for truly off-the-record conversations is to get >stripped down and sweaty in a sauna; ironically, a historical tactic for >organized crime members and others up to no good. But eventually, even that may
provide little protection against prying ears.
"It will definitely work," Patel said of his Buddi device. "At temperatures of >40 degrees Celsius [104 degrees Fahrenheit], it's totally fine."
Rya Jetha can be reached at rjetha@sfstandard.com
Zara Stone can be reached at zstone@sfstandard.com

[end quoted plain text]

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2