We can’t just change the definition of ‘recording’

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From the original article

Tech companies with new AI hardware want you to agree that always-listening, often-recapping devices don’t count as recording.

With AI hardware, tech companies are pushing the definition of what does and doesn’t constitute a recording. For most of gadget history, it’d be reasonable to assume that a device with a microphone or camera is either recording you or it isn’t; it’s either on or off, without much gray area.

Microphones capture sound. Cameras capture images. That data is saved onto a device. Sometimes, it’s also sent to the cloud — hopefully with end-to-end encryption — for processing. That data is a preserved instant in time and is therefore a recording.

Last week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple is working on a smart home camera that doesn’t save video recordings. Instead, AI uses the visual data to create text snippets that describe what’s happening around your home. Supposedly, it’ll support facial recognition, but without video footage. The idea is that it still protects some privacy.

This tech, Gurman says, is similar to how the cameras in rumored future AirPods will also work.

It’s similar to Apple’s Audio Intelligence on the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. The Apple Watch has had a microphone for ages, mostly for Siri and taking phone calls from the wrist. Of the four Audio Intelligence features, two have caused the most debate online: Live Rewind and Siri Recap. The former produces a transcript of the past 15 seconds, whereas the latter can generate high-level summaries of the conversations you have throughout the day.

In other words, Ray-Ban Meta glasses take photos and record video, which is stored on your phone. This rumored Apple approach would mean cameras can see you, microphones can hear you — but neither is “saving” anything.

Does this count as recording? Apple doesn’t comment on rumors, but based on how it’s publicly communicated its Audio Intelligence privacy philosophy, I’d argue the company doesn’t think so. Apple says these features don’t save any audio.