Amazon unveiled the Halo health and fitness app over the summer that paired with an AI-powered app to provide users with insight into their overall health – but it also appears to shy the wearer.
Washington Post A report states that technology points to flaws such as a smug voice or too much body fat.
The wearable device is equipped with a small microphone that listens to your voice, allowing it to set the tone and share descriptions such as “stubborn” or “descending”.
Users can also upload a semi-nude photo of themselves to the companion app, which is analyzed by the AI to determine their body composition.
The app not only displays your body fat percentage but also shows users how they will take care after shedding a few pounds.
Scroll down for the video
Amazon unveiled the Halo Health and Fitness Tracker over the summer that paired with an AI-powered app to provide users insight into their overall health – but it also appears to shame the wearer. The wearable device is equipped with a small microphone that listens to your voice, allowing to set the tone and share descriptions such as “the contractor” or “the condoner.”
Jeffrey Fowler and Heather Kelly, of the Washington Post, were able to get pre-release experience with Halo, which they say provides more data for Amazon about you helping you become healthier.
Amazon revealed Halo in August that it detects emotions through speech analysis, monitors sleep by heart rate and tracks activity based on the intensity and duration of movement.
Halo is not available to the public, only by inviting its “Early Access” version, but it is set to cost $ 99 with a monthly subscription fee of $ 3.99.
The Fitbit wristband is more like an Apple Watch, with a bracelet and sensor capsule along the inside.
Users can also upload a semi-nude photo of themselves to the companion app, which is analyzed by the AI to determine their body composition. Not only does the app display the percentage of body fat, but it also shows users how they will take care of after shedding some pounds
The capsule is what holds the device together, as it contains an array of sensors that collect accurate information about the wearer that is accounted for in insights about their health.
There is an accelerometer, temperature sensor, heart rate monitor, two microphones, an LED indicator light, and a button to turn the microphones on or off, among other functions.
Unlike Fitbit and Apple, Halo will share detailed metrics – even if you don’t want to hear it.
Both Fowler and Kelly reviewed the band, with the added goal of finding out whether a wearable device is able to determine gender – an important skill for analyzing tone of voice and fat composition.
As Halo knows, you start organizing conversations into positive or negative, along with high or low energy. Example of how AI determines which words to describe tone If a technology records a voice as a passive, low-energy one, it might classify it as “frustrated.”
During the audio test, Halo described Fowler’s voice as “transient” and Kelly’s voice was classified as “dismissive” and “condescending” – the descriptions appear in the accompanying app.
This feature works by continuously listening to the user’s voice, allowing him to recognize his own voices and tones.
As Halo knows, you start organizing conversations into positive or negative, along with high or low energy.
Example of how AI determines which words to describe tone If a technology records a sound as a passive, low-energy sound, it may classify it as “discouraging.”
The Washington Post reports that Amazon has capitalized on this power by training its AI tone for years using real audio recordings, and has conducted extensive experiments in the hope of removing biases that could occur depending on the user’s race, gender or age.
The Halo Privacy Policy states that Amazon will not sell data captured by the wearable device and uploaded to the app without the user’s permission. But according to the Washington Post, the policy is not saying that the tech giant cannot take advantage of it
However, Fowler and Kelly found that AI tends to repeat descriptions of “focused,” “interested,” and “knowledgeable.”
Negative terms included Fowler “stubborn,” “strict,” and “hesitant,” and Kelly received more “dismissive,” “stubborn,” “strict” and “condescending”.
In addition to letting users know their voices are unpleasant, Halo will keep them aware of their body fats.
The application allows users to upload a picture of themselves, which is a picture of them in underwear, and convert it into a 3D display that shows an increase or decrease in body fat.
The system is not designed to provide personalized plans or suggestions to help the wearer improve their fitness.
However, it does display the current body fat percentage and weight in the app.
The Halo Privacy Policy states that Amazon will not sell data captured by the wearable device and uploaded to the app without the user’s permission.
But according to the Washington Post, the policy is not saying that the tech giant cannot take advantage of it.
The e-commerce giant, for example, might use heart rate, sleep, and tone to improve health algorithms.
“Devoted organizer. Incurable thinker. Explorer. Tv junkie. Travel buff. Troublemaker.”
