Two artists have developed a tiny spy gadget, Conversnitch, which records overheard conversations and posts transcribed excerpts on Twitter.
Beware, there is a new spy in town that goes by the name Conversnitch. Basically it is a tiny device that automatically transcribes overheard conversations and posts them on the social networking site, Twitter. A two-person team behind the new technology, Brian House and Kyle McDonald, say the spy device bridges the gap between (presumed) private physical space and public space online, according to the documentation posted on the software development site GitHub.
House and McDonald created the Conversnitch that looks like a lamp but actually it is wired to pick up audio and post excerpts of transcribed conversations to its official Twitter account. Since the popular micro-blogging service limits users to post not more than 140 characters, one can expect the transcripts to be short. The Twitter feed on the @conversnitch account shows a list of various conversations that have been recorded and transcribed by the spy gadget. While some posts make no sense as they are just the excerpts of an interesting conversation, one can only guess what they actually mean. (Spoiler alert: it can be time consuming and brain chopping).
Conversnitch needs to be continuously connected to a wireless internet network to function. It records 10 second audio samples continuously and filters interesting audio and uploads a transcribed version on Twitter. It uses a simple set up, Raspberry Pi and a microphone packed in a clever disguise, such as a lamp and will cost less than $100.
McDonald, a 28-year-old teacher at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, released a video of the device being fitted into a table lamp at a bank, in a hanging lamp at a McDonald's in New York, in a library and in a lamp in New York City Park.
"You can't make this stuff up anymore," McDonald told Wired. "Here were Brian and I trying to make something kind of scary, something that makes you wonder if someone's watching you all the time. And then [Edward] Snowden says, 'They are.'"
The creators not only released the details on how to build the device on GitHub but also say the plans are completely free to use for any purpose.
We have embedded some interesting tweets from Coversnitch's official Twitter account. Some of them might actually make you laugh.
"She did. Kicked him right out of the house. Because he refused to put the toilet seat down."
- Conversnitch (@conversnitch) April 15, 2014
"Well, how can I get her off my back?" - Conversnitch (@conversnitch) April 15, 2014
"She did, she showed it to me yesterday when I was over at her place."
- Conversnitch (@conversnitch) April 18, 2014
"It's twitter. It's just twitter. Settle down. Screw it, I'll unfollow her if you really want." - Conversnitch (@conversnitch) April 18, 2014
