Surprise! Ready or not, like it or not, Amazon is installing Alexa on your Kindle. Some like this. Others don’t. Many ask what gives Amazon permission to break trust with their customers? An author friend of mine told me what Amazon did to her Kindle without asking permission. Even worse, she says there is no way to undo the damage.
What did Amazon do? They installed Alexa on her Kindle. Sounds harmless, right? The problem is she doesn’t want Alexa. She doesn’t trust Alexa. She doesn’t want Alexa to be listening to everything she says. But, like it or not, she’s stuck with Alexa.
She wants to uninstall it. Unfortunately, she can’t figure out how to do that. So, she is both stuck with it and steaming mad at Amazon for breaking the trust. And so are potentially millions of other Amazon.com customers. So why does Amazon think it’s OK to install Alexa and invade the privacy of their customers, without asking permission and with no way to uninstall it?
Some like Alexa on their Kindle, some don’t
Angry customers say Amazon has crossed over the line. Sure, some are OK with Alexa. Understood. They can download this AI technology and use it to their hearts content. The problem is the others who are not OK with Alexa are being forced to accept it against their will. They fear the loss of their privacy. Their opinion however doesn’t seem to matter to Amazon.
The younger people are generally OK with the loss of privacy. Middle aged and older people are generally suspicious of AI and don’t want it in their lives, at least at this early stage. It will take them more time to get comfortable with AI. They understand the good that AI brings to their lives. However, they also understand that good comes at a high price, loss of privacy.
So, who owns your Kindle? You would think once you pay money, you own the device. That thinking is so yesterday. Today, companies reserve the right to tinker and update. To make matters worse, today companies actually continue to own their creations. They only let you use their property when you buy. Many say this is wrong. After all, you pay for it. So, it should be yours. But it’s not. Read the terms. Surprise!
I like AI, but I also like privacy
If you have been paying attention, there are increasingly all sorts of stories in the news about brand name tech companies we all use, who are being charged with invading the privacy of their customers. Now add Amazon to the list. Think about the stories in the media about the legal system demanding companies turn over their recordings, data and other information about murder investigations, fraud and other criminal activities stored on their networks.
There is already so much information on every one of us stored in servers from assorted companies and government agencies. This is information that has been collected since the 80’s and the problem is only getting worse.
Damage to the Amazon.com brand is inevitable
Yes, we have been losing our privacy, bit by bit over the last few decades. Now with AI, this invasion of privacy is being turned up. Don’t get me wrong, I like AI. I think AI is going to be one of the most important developments in our history. However, with all that said, every coin has two sides. The other side of the AI coin is the invasion of privacy.
At this early stage, when so many users simply don’t want to lose their privacy, companies need to be very careful not to cross over that line in the sand. Installing Alexa on Kindle without permission crosses over that line. This is a large company like Amazon, which customers love, suddenly hurting many of those users.
The simple solution is to give customers the choice to install Alexa or not. At a minimum, Amazon should give customers the choice to uninstall it if they don’t want it or change their mind. But forcing every customer to take it crosses that line in the sand. Something that will hurt Amazon, not help them as they want to continue their amazing success and growth.
