Tech

<p>As if to remind us in both a comforting and eerie way that smart home devices are eavesdropping on everything you say and do, news emerged this week that one such gadget was instrumental in resolving a incident of domestic violence.</p><div class="oembedall-container sec-iframe sec-oembed-iframe"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Score a Google Home for just $99, with no tax for most buyers, plus more deals. <a href="https://t.co/5P9K4rzu3o">https://t.co/5P9K4rzu3o</a> <a href="https://t.co/fIQew7Wlzo">pic.twitter.com/fIQew7Wlzo</a></p>&mdash; Kinja Deals (@KinjaDeals) <a href="https://twitter.com/KinjaDeals/status/884067122523111424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>Although <a href="http://gizmodo.com/google-home-breaks-up-domestic-dispute-by-calling-the-p-1796755905">Gizmodo</a> and others have reported that the device was a Google Home, the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/smart-home-device-alerts-mexico-authorities-alleged-assault/story?id=48470912">original ABC story</a> doesn&#39;t mention the brand or model of the smart device. What we do know is that the crime occurred in Tijeras, New Mexico, near Albuquerque, where Eduardo Barros was house-sitting at a residence with his girlfriend and her daughter. There the couple got in a fight that turned nasty.</p><p>That&#39;s when the smart speaker stepped in.</p><blockquote> <p itemprop="articleBody">The couple got into an argument and the altercation became physical, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff Department&#39;s spokesperson, Deputy Felicia Romero.</p> <p itemprop="articleBody">Barros allegedly wielded a firearm and threatened to kill his girlfriend, asking her: &quot;Did you call the sheriffs?&quot; A smart speaker, which was hooked up to a surround sound system inside the home, recognized that as a voice command and called <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/crime.htm" id="ramplink_911_" target="_blank">911</a>, Romero said.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p itemprop="articleBody">&ldquo;The unexpected use of this new technology to contact emergency services has possibly helped save a life. This amazing technology definitely helped save a mother and her child from a very violent situation,&quot; Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III told ABC. Officers and a SWAT team swiftly arrived at the home and were able to talk Barros down after a long stand-off; his girlfriend, who had been injured, was taken to a hospital, but her daughter was unharmed.</p><p itemprop="articleBody">While the implications are still a bit worrying&mdash;the police were called by coincidence, not because the smart device knew what was happening, and there&#39;s reason to fear mistaken calls as well as <a href="http://mashable.com/2016/10/21/dyn-attack-iot-device/">sophisticated cyber-attacks</a> that target this kind of technology&mdash;it does seem these speakers could have a significant upside in ensuring the safety of their owners within the home.</p><p itemprop="articleBody">Let&#39;s just hope you never really need it.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

Smart home device actually called the police when it heard domestic violence in the house.

As if to remind us in both a comforting and eerie way that smart home devices are eavesdropping on everything you say and do, news emerged this week that one such gadget was instrumental in resolving a incident of domestic violence.Score a Google Home for just $99, with no tax for most buyers, plus more deals. https://t.co/5P9K4rzu3o pic.twitter.com/fIQew7Wlzo&mdash; Kinja Deals (@KinjaDeals) July 9, 2017 Although Gizmodo and others have reported that the device was a Google Home, the original ABC story doesn&#39;t mention the brand or model of the smart device. What we do know is that the crime occurred in Tijeras, New Mexico, near Albuquerque, where Eduardo Barros was house-sitting at a residence with his girlfriend and her daughter. There the couple got in a fight that turned nasty.That&#39;s when the smart speaker stepped in. The couple got into an argument and the altercation became physical, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff Department&#39;s spokesperson, Deputy Felicia Romero. Barros allegedly wielded a firearm and threatened to kill his girlfriend, asking her: &quot;Did you call the sheriffs?&quot; A smart speaker, which was hooked up to a surround sound system inside the home, recognized that as a voice command and called 911, Romero said. &ldquo;The unexpected use of this new technology to contact emergency services has possibly helped save a life. This amazing technology definitely helped save a mother and her child from a very violent situation,&quot; Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III told ABC. Officers and a SWAT team swiftly arrived at the home and were able to talk Barros down after a long stand-off; his girlfriend, who had been injured, was taken to a hospital, but her daughter was unharmed.While the implications are still a bit worrying&mdash;the police were called by coincidence, not because the smart device knew what was happening, and there&#39;s reason to fear mistaken calls as well as sophisticated cyber-attacks that target this kind of technology&mdash;it does seem these speakers could have a significant upside in ensuring the safety of their owners within the home.Let&#39;s just hope you never really need it.