Source URL: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/microsoft-word-and-excel-ai-data-scraping-slyly-switched-to-opt-in-by-default-the-opt-out-toggle-is-not-that-easy-to-find
Source: Hacker News
Title: Microsoft Word and Excel AI data scraping slyly switched to opt-in by default
Feedly Summary: Comments
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text discusses Microsoft’s Connected Experiences feature in Office applications, which collects user-generated content to train AI models by default, raising significant concerns around privacy and intellectual property rights for users. It highlights the convoluted opt-out process and the ethical implications of such data usage without explicit consent.
Detailed Description:
– Microsoft Office has a feature called Connected Experiences that analyzes content created by users.
– This feature gathers data from documents in Word and Excel to train Microsoft’s AI models, and it is enabled by default.
– Users are included in AI training automatically unless they take specific actions to deactivate the feature.
– The deactivation process is described as convoluted, requiring several steps to disable it:
– Navigate to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Optional Connected Experiences and uncheck the relevant box.
– The text points out the implications for creators and businesses that rely on Microsoft Office for proprietary work, as their documents could be utilized without their consent.
– There is a broader trend in the tech industry, with multiple companies implementing similar features that may pose risks to user privacy.
– The ethical concerns are emphasized, as the collection of human-generated content for AI training without consent is viewed as problematic.
– Microsoft’s Services Agreement includes a clause granting the company a “worldwide and royalty-free intellectual property license” to use user-generated content, which raises further questions about consent and ownership.
Overall, this raises important considerations for security and compliance professionals regarding data privacy, user consent, and the management of intellectual property in the context of AI systems. Organizations using Microsoft Office should remain diligent about understanding the implications of these features on their data and intellectual property.