<s>
A	O
smart	B-Device
speaker	I-Device
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
loudspeaker	O
and	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
device	I-Application
with	O
an	O
integrated	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
that	O
offers	O
interactive	O
actions	O
and	O
hands-free	O
activation	O
with	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
one	O
"	O
hot	O
word	O
"	O
(	O
or	O
several	O
"	O
hot	O
words	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
can	O
also	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
smart	B-Device
device	I-Device
that	O
utilizes	O
Wi-Fi	O
,	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
protocol	O
standards	O
to	O
extend	O
usage	O
beyond	O
audio	O
playback	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
to	O
control	O
home	O
automation	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
include	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
not	O
limited	O
to	O
,	O
features	B-Architecture
such	O
as	O
compatibility	O
across	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
services	O
and	O
platforms	O
,	O
peer-to-peer	O
connection	O
through	O
mesh	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
,	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
can	O
have	O
its	O
own	O
designated	O
interface	B-Application
and	O
features	B-Architecture
in-house	O
,	O
usually	O
launched	O
or	O
controlled	O
via	O
application	B-Application
or	O
home	O
automation	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
also	O
include	O
a	O
screen	O
to	O
show	O
the	O
user	O
a	O
visual	O
response	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
winter	O
2017	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
estimated	O
by	O
NPR	O
and	O
Edison	O
Research	O
that	O
39	O
million	O
Americans	O
(	O
16%	O
of	O
the	O
population	O
over	O
18	O
)	O
own	O
a	O
smart	B-Device
speaker	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
smart	B-Device
speaker	I-Device
with	O
a	O
touchscreen	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
smart	B-Device
display	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
smart	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
device	O
that	O
integrates	O
conversational	B-General_Concept
user	I-General_Concept
interface	I-General_Concept
with	O
display	O
screens	O
to	O
augment	O
voice	O
interaction	O
with	O
images	O
and	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
powered	O
by	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
common	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
and	O
offer	O
controls	O
for	O
smart	O
home	O
devices	O
,	O
feature	O
streaming	O
apps	O
and	O
web	O
browsers	O
with	O
touch	O
controls	O
for	O
selecting	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
smart	B-Device
displays	I-Device
were	O
introduced	O
in	O
2017	O
by	O
Amazon	B-Application
(	O
Amazon	B-Device
Echo	I-Device
Show	I-Device
,	O
Amazon	B-Device
Echo	I-Device
Spot	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
study	O
by	O
Proceedings	O
of	O
the	O
National	O
Academy	O
of	O
Sciences	O
of	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
of	O
America	O
released	O
In	O
March	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
six	O
biggest	O
tech	O
development	O
companies	O
,	O
Amazon	B-Application
,	O
Apple	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Yandex	O
,	O
IBM	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
have	O
misidentified	O
more	O
words	O
spoken	O
by	O
"	O
black	O
people	O
"	O
than	O
"	O
white	O
people	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
their	O
research	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
speech	O
recognition	O
software	O
is	O
13	O
percent	O
more	O
accurate	O
for	O
men	O
than	O
women	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
performs	O
better	O
than	O
the	O
systems	O
used	O
by	O
Bing	B-Application
,	O
AT&T	O
and	O
IBM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
built-in	O
microphone	O
in	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
is	O
continuously	O
listening	O
for	O
"	O
hot	O
words	O
"	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
command	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
an	O
analysis	O
of	O
Amazon	B-Device
Echo	I-Device
Dots	O
showed	O
that	O
30	O
–	O
38%	O
of	O
"	O
spurious	O
audio	O
recordings	O
were	O
human	O
conversations	O
"	O
,	O
suggesting	O
that	O
these	O
devices	O
capture	O
audio	O
other	O
than	O
strictly	O
detection	O
of	O
the	O
hot	O
word	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
strong	O
concerns	O
that	O
the	O
ever-listening	O
microphone	O
of	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
presents	O
a	O
perfect	O
candidate	O
for	O
wiretapping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
provide	O
a	O
valuable	O
service	O
,	O
there	O
can	O
be	O
some	O
hesitation	O
towards	O
using	O
them	O
in	O
various	O
social	O
contexts	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
public	O
or	O
around	O
other	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
only	O
more	O
recently	O
have	O
users	O
begun	O
interacting	O
with	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
through	O
an	O
interaction	O
with	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
rather	O
than	O
an	O
interaction	O
with	O
the	O
phone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
phone	O
,	O
most	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
have	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
be	O
engaged	O
by	O
a	O
physical	O
button	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
Siri	B-Application
with	O
a	O
long	O
press	O
of	O
the	O
home	O
button	O
)	O
rather	O
than	O
solely	O
by	O
hot	O
word-based	O
engagement	O
in	O
a	O
smart	B-Device
speaker	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
trade-off	O
is	O
not	O
unique	O
to	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
;	O
as	O
more	O
and	O
more	O
devices	O
come	O
online	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
an	O
increasing	O
trade-off	O
between	O
convenience	O
and	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
there	O
are	O
many	O
factors	O
influencing	O
smart	B-Device
speaker	I-Device
adoption	O
,	O
specifically	O
with	O
regards	O
to	O
privacy	O
,	O
Lau	O
et	O
al	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
explored	O
adoption	O
using	O
the	O
technology	O
acceptance	O
model	O
and	O
identified	O
factors	O
influencing	O
expected	O
usefulness	O
,	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
,	O
and	O
attitudes	O
toward	O
smart	B-Device
speaker	I-Device
devices	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
home	O
care	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
authors	O
describe	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
critical	O
challenges	O
in	O
designing	O
for	O
this	O
context	O
given	O
the	O
potential	O
impact	O
of	O
the	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
's	O
personality	O
on	O
someone	O
's	O
perspective	O
of	O
the	O
care	O
situation	O
and	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
desire	O
for	O
intelligent	O
support	O
from	O
the	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
configured	O
without	O
authentication	O
,	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
can	O
be	O
activated	O
by	O
people	O
other	O
than	O
the	O
intended	O
user	O
or	O
owner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
team	O
demonstrated	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
stimulate	O
the	O
microphones	O
of	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
and	O
smartphones	O
through	O
a	O
closed	O
window	O
,	O
from	O
another	O
building	O
across	O
the	O
street	O
,	O
using	O
a	O
laser	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
Owned	O
by	O
Devices	O
No	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Friends	O
Japanese	O
and	O
Korean	O
Introduced	O
summer	O
2017Google	O
AssistantGoogleGoogle	O
Home	O
series	O
:	O
Home	O
,	O
Home	O
Max	O
,	O
Home	O
Mini	O
,	O
Nest	B-Device
Hub	I-Device
,	O
Nest	B-Device
Hub	I-Device
Max	O
,	O
Nest	O
Mini	O
,	O
Nest	O
Audio	O
,	O
Nest	O
Wi-Fi	O
(	O
point	O
only	O
)	O
14	O
million	O
Google	B-Device
Homes	I-Device
in	O
U.S.	O
(	O
January	O
2018	O
)	O
Summer	O
2019	O
:	O
Danish	O
,	O
Dutch	O
,	O
English	O
(	O
U.S.	O
,	O
U.K.	O
,	O
Canada	O
,	O
Australia	O
,	O
India	O
and	O
Singapore	O
)	O
,	O
French	O
(	O
France	O
and	O
Canada	O
)	O
,	O
German	O
(	O
Austria	O
and	O
Germany	O
)	O
,	O
Hindi	O
,	O
Italian	O
,	O
Japanese	O
,	O
Korean	O
,	O
Norwegian	O
,	O
Portuguese	O
(	O
Brazilian	O
)	O
,	O
Spanish	O
(	O
Spain	O
and	O
Mexico	O
)	O
and	O
SwedishBeijing	O
LingLong	O
,	O
part	O
of	O
JDDingDongMandarin	O
and	O
Cantonese	O
for	O
Greater	O
ChinaIn	O
cooperation	O
with	O
Chinese	O
AI	B-Application
firm	O
iFlytek	O
.	O
</s>
