Stealth-Listening Devices

Curious to get others thoughts on the usage of 'stealth' listening devices (e.g. a device like a USB stick, pen or note-card) during meetings and at work. I've been using them on and off since my memory is pretty bad and they've honestly been a life-saver. 

I'll discretely carry them around (and are less obvious than other options like the wrist-wearable listening devices) and then upload the recordings to my personal computer. I use AI to summarize, transcribe and tag the voices (e.g. it'll start to pick-up and recognize who the voices are associated with which is even more helpful vs just the transcript). 

Obviously this is super high-risk if I get caught but I feel like the benefits (perfect memory, excellent follow-ups, note-taking, etc.) outweigh the cons. Plus, New York is a one-party consent state. So far this has helped me tremendously and I've been getting tons of compliments and kudos for my notetaking and recall ability (e.g. knowing and having a management # off-hand that was only quickly mentioned). 

The only time I've been close to getting caught is when someone did a double-take that I recalled something they had mentioned off-hand like 4 months ago. I just pretended like I had good memory and laughed it off but I think they were a bit taken-aback that I had recalled that. Plus, my recall is obviously not as good in-person vs when I can cross-reference my notes.

Thoughts? Should I quit while I'm ahead / before anyone notices or keep going?

8 Comments
 

Why is there a risk if caught? I use Plaud.ai it looks like a credit card it sticks to the back of you work iPhone via magsafe it its super discreet and for Teams / Zoom i just sit it next to my laptop speaker. 

I think having an assoc sit and either type or handwrite notes is absurd, and VP+ sitting there typing makes meetings feel transacational and less conversational so i sit there and can engage vs feel like if i miss something im f'd 

 

No I don't do this but I actually have that memory IRL. Constantly dealing with people shocked and taken back about off hand comments I can recall. My short term is ass (couldnt tell you what I had for breakfast 3 days ago) but once something cements into long term memory it's really good. It's not fully photographic as if I can remember every word I've read or something like that but if I pay attention and commit something to memory it stays there, every vivid detail of it. The specific words used, the tone, the pauses, how the light was coming into the room that moment, all of it.

 
Most Helpful

I think both the legal and ethical aspects need to be considered. From a legal POV, your firm is likely to have a policy that regulates recording of communications. The growth of AI has forced many firms and their legal departments to tighten policies to ensure that key meetings / conversations are not recorded and discoverable records kept. Recording without formal permission is ground for termination under our policy so I would highly suggest at least being aware of what your policy is. There's also an important confidentiality aspect to consider, no company wants a random tech company to have access to private and confidential data and uploading company data to an unapproved AI agent is ground for termination at most places. 

From an ethical perspective, while I totally appreciate how helpful it can be to have note taken automatically, I think most people would have an issue being recorded without their knowledge. The very least you could do is to ask permission at the onset of the meeting. It doesn't have to be formal and something along the lines of "does anyone mind if I get my AI agent to take notes) is what I would expect any coworker to do.  

 

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