Thursday, August 10, 2023

Generative AI Is Making Companies Even More Thirsty for Your Data | WIRED

The problem with Zoom’s effort to grab more data is that it reflects the broad state of affairs when it comes to our personal data. Many tech companies already profit from our information, and many of them like Zoom are now on the hunt for ways to source more data for generative AI projects. And yet it is up to us, the users, to try to police what they are doing.

WILL KNIGHT

BUSINESS

AUG 10, 2023 12:00 PM

Generative AI Is Making Companies Even More Thirsty for Your Data

The outcry over Zoom's tweak to its data policy shows how the race to build more powerful AI models creates new pressure to source training data—including by juicing it from users.

ZOOM, THE COMPANY that normalized attending business meetings in your pajama pants, was forced to unmute itself this week to reassure users that it would not use personal data to train artificial intelligence without their consent.
A keen-eyed Hacker News user last week noticed that an update to Zoom’s terms and conditions in March appeared to essentially give the company free rein to slurp up voice, video, and other data, and shovel it into machine learning systems. . . [ ]

The US lacks a federal privacy law, leaving consumers more exposed to the pangs of ChatGPT-inspired data hunger than people in the EU.

Proposed legislation, such as the American Data Privacy and Protection Act, offers some hope of providing tighter federal rules on data collection and use, and the Biden administration’s AI Bill of Rights also calls for data protection by default.
But for now, public pushback like that in response to Zoom’s moves is the most effective way to curb companies’ data appetites.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a reliable mechanism for catching every questionable decision by companies trying to compete in AI.

In an age when the most exciting and widely praised new technologies are built atop mountains of data collected from consumers, often in ethically questionable ways, it seems that new protections can’t come soon enough. “Every single person is supposed to take steps to protect themselves,” Havens says. “That is antithetical to the idea that this is a societal problem.”

Details . WIRED

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Digital Technology Guru

Zoom Reassures Users It Won't Use Personal Data for AI Training Without Consent

Zoom has taken steps to reassure its users that it will not use personal data to train artificial intelligence (AI) without their consent.

39 mins ago

Zoom Reassures Users It Won’t Use Personal Data for AI Training Without Consent

2 min read

40 mins ago Duane Harris

Zoom has taken steps to reassure its users that it will not use personal data to train artificial intelligence (AI) without their consent.

The move comes after a keen-eyed user on Hacker News noticed an update to Zoom’s terms and conditions in March that appeared to give the company permission to collect voice, video, and other data for use in machine learning systems. The update stated that customers consented to Zoom’s access and use of their data for purposes including machine learning and AI training.

This discovery led to widespread criticism and anger both in news articles and on social media. In response, Zoom’s chief product officer, Smita Hasham, published a blog post stating that the company would not use audio, video, or chat customer content to train their AI models without consent. Zoom also updated its terms to reflect this change.

However, concerns remain that many users may not fully understand the implications of clicking “OK” to these terms or that employees using Zoom may be unaware of the data their employer is sharing.

Legal experts note that the updated terms still allow Zoom to collect a significant amount of data without consent.

This incident highlights the lack of meaningful data protection in a time when the demand for data in the AI industry is increasing. Companies view AI as a hungry monster that requires a constant feed of data, often without clear justification or knowledge of how that data will be used in the future.

Zoom has already embraced AI, introducing text-generation features in June for summarizing meetings and composing emails.
It is conceivable that Zoom could use data from users’ video meetings to develop more advanced algorithms that analyze behavior or create virtual likenesses.

This situation reflects the broader issue of tech companies profiting from personal data and seeking ways to acquire more data for AI projects. Without stringent privacy laws, users are left to police these companies’ actions. Proposed legislation and public pushback can help curb data exploitation, but reliable mechanisms are needed to address questionable decisions made companies in the AI space.