One important aspect of freedom of speech that relates to smart home speakers is whether or not these AI personalities have such First Amendment rights. It can be argued that artificially intelligent programs should be entitled to free speech protections, since programs like Alexa do create their own speech [1]. Of course, this depends on the definition of speech being used, and opponents to this opinion argue that the speech originates from the people who created the AI, and that the creators should have primary rights, while the AI should get lower secondary rights instead [2]. Either way, this is an important debate that has not actually been settled by any laws, and will be an important consideration as smart home technology develops in the future.

       In February of 2017, police in Arkansas attempted to seize 2 days worth of voice recordings captured by an Amazon Alexa [4], claiming that it could be important in proving the murder of Victor Collins. Collin’s friend, James Andrew Bates, was the prime suspect in the murder trial and had an Alexa in his home [3]. Lawyers at Amazon motioned for the judge to throw out the recordings [1], arguing that they were an infringement on First Amendment rights. They stated that, “’Such government demands inevitably chill users from exercising their First Amendment rights to seek and receive information and expressive content in the privacy of their own home… conduct which lies at the core of the Constitution.’” [4]

Sources

  1. Mason, A. (2017, April 4). Amazon’s “Alexa”: An At-home Dream or Free-speech Nightmare? Retrieved from https://lawreview.law.miami.edu/amazons-alexa-at-home-dream-free-speech-nightmare/ Accessed 16 Sept. 2019
  2. Duncan, K. (2019, March 9). Alexa’s Constitutional Rights: Does the 1st Amendment Extend to Artificially Intelligent Machines? Retrieved from https://jolt.richmond.edu/2018/02/15/alexas-constitutional-rights-does-the-1st-amendment-extend-to-artificially-intelligent-machines/ Accessed 16 Sept. 2019
  3. Robbins, G. (2017, Feb 23). Free speech debate erupts over prosecutor’s efforts to get audio from amazon alexa. TCA Regional News Retrieved from http://ezproxy.wpi.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1871341167?accountid=29120 Accessed 16 Sept. 2019
  4. “Amazon argues that Alexa is protected by the First Amendment in a murder trial.” Quartz, 23 Feb. 2017. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A482220051/AONE?u=mlin_c_worpoly&sid=AONE&xid=d9fa30cd Accessed 16 Sept. 2019.