Apple unveils the Apple Watch Series 12 with artificial intelligence that raises privacy concerns

In addition to the long-awaited foldable iPhone Duo phone, the company unveiled its new smart watch, the Apple Watch Series 12, equipped with the “Siri” assistant powered by artificial intelligence, amid growing privacy concerns.

The new watch offers two main features within what Apple calls “Audio Intelligence”:

The first is Live Rewind: It allows the user to press twice on the Digital Crown button - the prominent rotating part on the side of the watch) to get a written text of the last 15 seconds of any conversation. It is a feature that Apple markets to anyone who wants to remember a book recommendation, a colleague’s idea, or information that he did not hear well.

Second: Siri Recap: It uses ambient listening to capture summaries and key points from the user's daily conversations, and can be set to always run or at specific times.

Apple makes sure that your privacy is protected, that the recordings cannot be accessed by anyone, and that it is not determined who said what.

But the real problem is not with you, but with those around you. If you are talking with a friend in a public place, and someone nearby is wearing this watch, your conversation may be recorded without you knowing or consenting.

This is what actually happened with the “Meta” smart glasses, which were nicknamed “pervert glasses” because people used them to secretly record others. Although the glasses have an alert LED light, some people manage to hide it.

Apple also did not clarify whether the Siri Recap feature would issue an audio alert similar to Live Rewind to inform those around them that their conversations are being recorded and summarized.

Observers believe that Apple may face a wave of public anger when these features are put on the market, even though its record in protecting privacy is relatively better than other companies such as Meta.