ALBAWABA - Ring, Amazon's home security and smart home device manufacturer, recently sparked privacy concerns among customers with its new Super Bowl ad, which introduced an AI feature to help find lost dogs.
The ad aired during the Super Bowl on February 8 and featured a touching family reunion with their dog, Milo, who had gone missing but was identified by nearby Ring cameras.
Narrated by Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, the Ring ad outlines that while 10 million dogs go missing from their families each year, people's methods of finding their best friend haven't changed. Siminoff added, "Before Search Party, the best you could do was drive up and down the neighborhood, shouting your dog's name in hopes of finding them."
Ring ad for lost dogs sparks privacy concerns over 'creepy' AI search feature
The new feature allows users to post a picture and essential information of their lost dog, triggering a search party using doorbell cameras across neighborhoods.
Ring's ad sparked mixed reactions on social media, with many calling it "creepy" due to its potential use in harmful ways, such as spying on humans. A social media user wrote, "Y’all, this Ring Doorbell Camera commercial was creepy as can be."
Another wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "This hit, but here's the bad news: your missing pet is used as justification for extensive neighborhood monitoring." Before you realize it normalizes AI tracking anyone or anything through private cameras without consent, the feature seems useful. Pets today, whatever else they choose to "help" you find tomorrow."
Someone else asked due to privacy concerns, "And how do we know it’s just pets they’re monitoring?"
