Editing Introduction of Voice Assistants (section)

== Criticism ==

=== Security and privacy issues ===
There also have been some issues regarding the security and privacy of Voice Assistance. For example a voice reveals someones identity, emotion, gender, ethnicity or cultural background. <ref>Humphry, J., & Chesher, C. (2021). Preparing for smart voice assistants: Cultural histories and media innovations. ''New media & society'', ''23''(7), 1971-1988.</ref> Users can ask to read out loud their personal information, emails, calendar contents, etc. To prevent others from asking about personal details, Google upgraded its Voice Assistant software to include voice printing, which identifies each user by voice. There have been some cases where anyone from outside could unlock someone’s house by asking Siri to unlock the door. The voice prints can also be used to recognize an individual’s unique voice in cases of fraud or theft.<ref>Rashid, R. A., Mahalin, N. H., Sarijari, M. A., & Aziz, A. A. A. (2008, May). Security system using biometric technology: Design and implementation of Voice Recognition System (VRS). In ''2008 international conference on computer and communication engineering'' (pp. 898-902). IEEE.</ref>  Amazon’s Alexa had a voice passcode that was introduced to confirm purchases. 

Voice Assistants are also vulnerable to attacks, like commands that are delivered at ultrasonic frequencies. For example, a television product advertisement with embedded ultrasound commands can add items to your shopping list.<ref name=":1" /> 

Also, do these devices always listen? They have to respond by specific cues, so they always need to listen. According to Amazon, Apple, MS and Google all insist that the devices only record when triggered by the wake word, there have been recorded cases of malfunctioning devices recording their surroundings uninterruptedly and sending those recordings to the company’s servers. <ref name=":2">Google Home Mini flaw left smart speaker recording everything | ZDNET</ref>

=== Gender bias ===
Voice assistants represent the fundamental departure from earlier technologies relying on sterile, keyword-driven commands typed on a keyboard; instead they harness the power of speech, deemed as the most natural form of human communication.<ref name=":0">Phan, T. (2017). The Materiality of the Digital and the Gendered Voice of Siri. ''Transformations'', ''29'', 23–33.</ref> However, an aspect of this transition that has drawn significant criticism from researchers in fields of social studies is the adoption of nurturing, female voices for voice assistants, with a profound impact on how users engage with and perceive them.

The use of female voices has contributed to asistants being seen as friendlier and more familiar to users, making interactions more engaging thanks to the perceived warmth, approachability and their coded 'readiness to help'.<ref>Fisher, E. (2021). ''Gender Bias in AI: Why Voice Assistants are Female''. Adapt. <nowiki>https://www.adaptworldwide.com/insights/2021/gender-bias-in-ai-why-voice-assistants-are-female</nowiki></ref> While some voice assistants do indeed offer male voice alternatives, it's important to note that the default and most well known voice for all leading voice assistants remains female. Such design choices are sparking discussions about reinforcing and perpetuating gender stereotypes and biases, raising questions about the roles assigned to technology and how these choices can further shape societal perceptions.<ref name=":0" /><ref>West, M., Kraut, R., & Ei Chew, H. (2019). I'd blush if I could: closing gender divides in digital skills through education.</ref>