From the Guardian article: Apple apologises for allowing workers to listen to Siri recordings

“In the past six months, every major producer of voice-assistant technology has been revealed to be operating human-oversight programmes, having run them in secret for years.”

Apple was just the last to get caught. They’re the most privacy-conscious you know, according to their own PR. Amazon got caught first, and Microsoft and Google–it’s all the same thing.

Caught doing what exactly, you ask?

” … having recorded confidential information, illegal acts, and even Siri users having sex.”

Or anything else that you do or say from the trivial to the criminal.

“As a result of our review, we realise we have not been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologise,” Apple said …

Seriously, this is the worst part. Because no, Apple, you were absolutely living up to your highest ideal. Which is return to shareholders. Profit. It’s the only reason you exist, and your apology is just another lie, and you will tell another and another and anyone who believes you this time or next is a fool.

The final paragraph:

“Microsoft has made no changes to its programme, which not only involved listening to its Cortana voice assistant but also to Skype conversations that were conducted with a translation feature turned on. It did, however, update its privacy policy when the practice was discovered.”

No change, except now we tell you in the fine print that Windows is spyware, and if you don’t read it, it’s just your fault.

It’s a dog’s breakfast, and you have the freedom-loving choice to chow down on what comes out of the front of the dog, or the back of the dog.

Going hungry looks like a better and better option.