I certainly can't write my thoughts regarding the discussion of the Amazon
Echo and of podcasts on the Victor Stream list where the discussions took
place. But I do have some thoughts about blind people and technology which
I'd like to write about where almost no one will read them. First, I'd like
to mention the podcasts. At least, I'd like to say to Roger that it is
highly unlikely that anyone on that list would be interested in the kinds of
podcasts that interest you, or that interest me, for that matter. From what
I've read on the past Victor Readers Stream list, the majority of people are
interested in podcasts from mainstream providers like radio and TV news and
entertainment and blind centered podcasts. They're not about to read
anything that's politically left of center.
My other observation regards how addicted blind people appear to be to
devices of all kinds. I noticed that someone had several versions of the
Echo, which reminded me that people often have a variety of reading
devices, not just the NLS player and the VR Stream, but several other
players manufactured by a variety of companies, and in addition, an Ipod
Touch or an Iphone. Some folks immediately buy the new version of a product
that they already own, as soon as it comes on the market. They have a first
gen stream, a second gen stream, and a victor trek, along with similar
products from APH. They have certainly been brainwashed into being good
consumers, and I wonder how they can afford all of this stuff. But I wonder
about the need to accumulate so much. It reminds me of all the people who
have thousands of books on storage devices. They can't possibly keep track
of all of the books they own, let alone, read them. They explain their
reasons for the accumulating of so many books, but I doubt that these are
the real reasons. I wonder if, like many sighted people who shop and shop,
the problem is that their lives feel empty. Perhaps,many folks have been
blind all of their lives and they've lived solitary, inactive lives.
Perhaps, having all of this stuff provides stimulation. I have to say that I
was most distressed by the people who own Echoes and have these devices do
so many tasks for them. After the part of the discussion in which I
participated, I looked up an article about the Echo and found one on
WikkiPedia. The Echo does transmit everything that it hears to Amazon which
stores it in the cloud. There was a crime case in which the police demanded
everything that Amazon had on record from the Echo that was installed in a
particular home. Amazon refused to give the material to the police, but the
home owner eventually did so, voluntarily. So this causes me to believe that
no matter what people think, Alexa is always listening. Not only are Echo
owners urged to buy equipment that the Echo can easily control, but other
companies are encouraged to develop new apps for it. Its software is
available to them in the cloud. Apparently, people will happily hand over
their personal information for convenience to Amazon, or for the appearance
of sociability, to Facebook. Everyone can be important by posting details of
their latest activity so that the whole world will know. And everyone can
pretend to be wealthy by having the luxury of asking a robot to turn on
their TV. It's amazing that there are still hopeful people on the political
left who believe that people will rise up against the corporate police
state.
Miriam