Testers of Roomba robot vacuum cleaners from the iRobot brand were surprised to find photos taken by their device on social networks, some of which were particularly intimate.
It was certainly part of the small lines of the contract. But when people signed up to test robot vacuums, he didn’t expect to see pictures of their homes on social media. However, this was revealed by an investigation by the MIT Technology Review.
Sharing on private groups
As part of a test, development versions of iRobot’s Roomba J7 robot vacuums collected a lot of data between 2019 and 2022. Including photos taken from the device’s front camera. The objective is then to improve the robots’ artificial intelligence by sending all of this information to Scale AI. This company specializes in the inventory of audio, photo and video files intended to train artificial intelligence.
Only problem, the classification of the data is carried out by humans. Independent workers located in Venezuela therefore treated these images well, but also shared them on private Facebook groups, Discord and other networks. On the leaked photos, we find interiors, kitchens, living rooms, but sometimes humans are in the field. Among the most problematic photos: that of a minor child, barely eight or nine years old, or that of a woman sitting on this toilet, the shorts down to mid-thigh.
“I had no idea that the data was going overseas,” a participant in the test of the device told the American review.
Very invasive monitoring
“One wonders if the company is tricking people into signing them up for this type of very invasive surveillance without ever fully understanding what they are agreeing to,” said Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, an association that defends privacy, with the MIT Technology Review.
iRobot did not seem aware of the leaked photos taken by its devices. The company assured that the images were “shared in violation of a written non-disclosure agreement”. Since then, the collaboration with ScaledAI has been stopped by the robot vacuum cleaner manufacturer.
“iRobot has terminated its relationship with the service provider that leaked the images, is actively investigating this matter and is taking steps to help prevent a similar leak by any service provider in the future,” it said. company boss Colin Angle.