Ring doorbells and cameras are “learning housing routines” using AI through a new feature called video description.
It's part of Amazon – in fact, all the high-tech giants do this – an ongoing effort to stuff them into everything that makes AI. This particular feature uses the generation AI to describe textual descriptions of motion activity detected by the ring doorbell and camera.
As of today, video descriptions are available as beta features for all ring doorbells and cameras, but are available for rings only in US and Canada Home Premium subscribers, as well as in English only. Users must enable the video to text feature via the Ring app.
As Jamie Siminoff, founder of the ring and product's Amazon vice president, published a video description on his blog today, I did this and found:
According to Siminoff, the goal is to transfer heavy lifting involved in home security to the AI in the ring. This also includes “custom anomaly alerts.” This is generated when “something happens with an asset that is an abnormality to the property.”
And here it gets a little creepy: “It will only bring peace of mind by learning your housing routine, becoming smarter and notifying you when it is normal.”
This makes it pause in contrast to peace of mind and sounds like super-charged snooping wrapped in an AI bow. If this kind of information is not properly protected, it can become a treasure trove for burglars, robbers, stalkers and all other kinds of prank makers. In December 2022, due to the indictment of a large ju court, two US men broke into ring accounts and made fake emergency calls to police (“swatting”) and streamed audio and video as police arrived.
It's particularly troublesome considering the past troubles of the ring, which involves data privacy and a comfortable relationship with security and law enforcement.
In April 2024, US regulators ordered the ring to pay a total of $5.6 million to its customers to resolve allegations that cybercriminals and fraudulent ring workers spy on people through home security cameras.
Register We asked where this information about a user's home routine is stored, how it is protected, and under what circumstances it may be shared with law enforcement.
“We do not record explanations generated from video descriptions,” a spokesperson who emailed us in response to our questions.
In the meantime, your humble vulture will continue to cling to the stupid doorbell and exposed dog, bringing you peace of mind about out-of-the-box events at home. ®
Editor's Note: This story was revised after publication in comments from Amazon.
