Google wants its digital assistants to be there when you need them most. The company is seeking to patent what it calls "contextual triggering" of assistive functions.  This would allow digital assistants to kick in and make suggestions without the user needing to us a 'wake word' or press a button.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            "As assistant interfacews become more integrated with these various applications and operating systems running on computing devices, digital assistants may be leveraged to influence how media content is presented to a user of a computing device to aid in the awareness of the user", Google said in its patent filing.  Patents like this show how badly big consumer tech firms want to know their users intimately by offering tools for convenience, said Brian P. Green, Director of technology ethics at the Markkula Center for applied ethics at Santa Clara University.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          This is also evident through Apple's continued domination of health tech, or Meta's interest in reading users eye movements and brain signals with its headsets.  "This kind of a natural outgrowth is what's already happening in the tech industry", said Green.  "I think there's a general trend there:  Collect more information in order (for big tech) to get used more, which of course drives revenue."  What consumers sacrifice for more usefulness and convenience is privacy, said Green, as these tools need a constant stream of personal data to work optimally.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  As this data collection continues, so does the security risk, both to the consumer and the company's reputation.  Plus, let's not forget that the majority of Google's money comes from its behemoth of an advertising bisiness, not its devices.  The company brought in nearly $60 billion in ad revenue in the most recent quarter, up 9% year over year, and making up more than 77% of the total revenue.