Big Brother, meet sister Alexa. In this piece, Appleinsider, which is a pro-Apple site, frets over the decision by Lennar and other home builders to incorporate Amazon's Alexa platform into new homes that could provide Amazon with a trove of information on life habits of the occupants.
Amazon's push to get Alexa-devices installed in new home construction aims to "boost the number of people using Alexa-powered products, giving Amazon access to data on people's living habits that Amazon can use to sell more goods and services," noted a report by Aaron Tilley and Priya Anand for The Information.
It's also a direct offensive against Apple's HomeKit platform for home automation, without the same interest in data security and privacy that Apple has pioneered. Last summer, Lennar began advertising integration with Alexa voice-first microphones as well as "whole-home automation by Samsung SmartThings," another platform associated with security issues.
Amazon's Alexa strategy is working toward scenarios where the service could decide to perform regular tasks automatically, the report noted, such as "turning off the lights on its own based on what it has learned about the person's habits," or scheduling a house cleaner and then giving them access to your home.
