Tech companies are expanding the definition of what constitutes a recording as they integrate AI hardware into consumer devices. Historically, the status of a microphone or camera was binary: a device with these components was either actively capturing sound or images, or it was off. This on/off distinction left little room for ambiguity. Data captured by these sensors was saved to the device or sent to the cloud, often with end-to-end encryption, to be processed as a preserved moment in time. That data was universally understood as a recording. The introduction of AI hardware is challenging this long-standing assumption. Last week, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman reported that Apple is working on a smart home device. The full details of this project were discussed by The Verge.