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Ask Microsoft: Are you using our personal data to train AI?

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Re: Ask Microsoft: Are you using our personal data to train AI?

#81

Post by 5636588 »

dna_polymerase wrote: post #58
Aachen wrote: post #39

> We had four lawyers, three privacy experts, and two campaigners look at Microsoft's new Service Agreement, which will go into effect on 30 September, and none of our experts could tell if Microsoft [will use your data] to train its AI models. * in the USA, I assume? With GDPR, if it's not a defined goal then the answer is no. In the USA, I hear things of some states having a similar law now but as a blanket stateme…

I think what these types of contracts show is that companies at Microsoft's level don't give a sh*t about national or over-regional regulation. They will use your data, and while you're busy reading 100s of pages of mumbo-jumbo they already have their models about you in place and sell access to it on a PPC basis. And this is especially true with GDPR. Google's revenues are still growing, the advertising companies ar…

Defeatism and cynicism are simply excuses for complacency. If you think companies like Microsoft are exploiting your data, don't just whine about it; take action. Your passivity won't stop them; stricter regulations and public pressure will. Just the other day, Microsoft decided to decouple Teams from the Office Suite in an attempt to preempt a potential antitrust penalty from the European Union. It's just one example of how a regulatory body can influence how companies conduct their business.

Re: Ask Microsoft: Are you using our personal data to train AI?

#82

Post by Lio »

say_it_as_it_is wrote: post #70

Would Microsoft really risk training data by government administration? It generates billions in revenue from government accounts and the vast industry supporting government that is compelled to use Microsoft products.

Based on previous legal battles at Microsoft, yes they would.

Microsoft chance their arm on anything they think they can get away with.

They think they are too big to fail

Re: Ask Microsoft: Are you using our personal data to train AI?

#84

Post by Am4TIfIsER0ppos »

If a corporation has your data you can be damn sure they are mining it for all it is worth which includes feeding into AI learning these days. They work for the governments helping to surveil us. We "voluntarily" tell google, microsoft, apple, facebook everything that we would object telling to big brother. Boy do I have news for you!

Re: Ask Microsoft: Are you using our personal data to train AI?

#87

Post by NhanH »

Lio wrote: post #82
say_it_as_it_is wrote: post #70

Would Microsoft really risk training data by government administration? It generates billions in revenue from government accounts and the vast industry supporting government that is compelled to use Microsoft products.

Based on previous legal battles at Microsoft, yes they would. Microsoft chance their arm on anything they think they can get away with. They think they are too big to fail

The market thinks they are too big to fail as well. For a while they had better credit rating than the US government.

Re: Ask Microsoft: Are you using our personal data to train AI?

#88

Post by tinus_hn »

layer8 wrote: post #71
ldjb wrote: post #25

For reference, here is the text of Microsoft's upcoming Services Agreement: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming.a... And here is their summary of what has changed: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming-u...

It still contains the sentence “to improve Microsoft products and services, you grant to Microsoft a worldwide and royalty-free intellectual property license to use Your Content.” The only explicit limitation is asserted with respect to targeted advertising: “We do not use what you say in email, chat, video calls or voice mail, or your documents, photos or other personal files, to target advertising to you.” The Summ…

Training a Microsoft AI could quite literally be considered ‘improving Microsoft products and services’.

Re: Ask Microsoft: Are you using our personal data to train AI?

#89

Post by reaperducer »

justinclift wrote: post #78
nologic01 wrote: post #73

The regulatory architecture of "big tech" is an unmitigated disaster. You can't have two entities effectively control every touching point with the digital domain for a major fraction of the planet. There is absolutely no reason to trust that they will not abuse this position in opaque and impossible to trace ways. These are trillion-dollar powered for-profit entities, with armies of lawyers and lobbyists that can in…

> they are legally obliged to do for their shareholders Isn't that an "old wives tale" that doesn't have any basis in reality?

Isn't that an "old wives tale" that doesn't have any basis in reality?

You are correct. Nobody has ever been able to point to a law requiring companies to maximize profits for shareholders at all costs.

In fact, there are thousands and thousands of companies that exist with a primary purpose of doing things other than making money for their shareholders.

Any "legal" obligation to "maximize shareholder value" started out as a way to excuse the greed of other people, but falls flat upon even cursory examination.

Re: Ask Microsoft: Are you using our personal data to train AI?

#90

Post by c4mpute »

5636588 wrote: post #81
dna_polymerase wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what these types of contracts show is that companies at Microsoft's level don't give a sh*t about national or over-regional regulation. They will use your data, and while you're busy reading 100s of pages of mumbo-jumbo they already have their models about you in place and sell access to it on a PPC basis. And this is especially true with GDPR. Google's revenues are still growing, the advertising companies ar…

Defeatism and cynicism are simply excuses for complacency. If you think companies like Microsoft are exploiting your data, don't just whine about it; take action. Your passivity won't stop them; stricter regulations and public pressure will. Just the other day, Microsoft decided to decouple Teams from the Office Suite in an attempt to preempt a potential antitrust penalty from the European Union. It's just one exampl…

On the one hand, yes, in that one example it worked. After quite a while, during which the competition already suffered massively.

On the other hand, triple nope. E.g. the council of German GDPR enforcers declared most of Windows and Microsoft Office unfit for use in public offices and companies. https://www.wbs.legal/it-und-internet-recht/datenschutzrecht... or https://datenschutzbeauftragter-dsgvo.com/dsgvo-teil-2-micro...

But nobody cares, everyone just ignores those kinds of decisions and continues to not get fined because as especially the second link shows, "its complicated". Nobody even knows which agreements with Microsoft are actually valid for which license, software and situation. At the same time, for all the office drones, Microsoft software is just "the standard" and nobody even considers switching. It is just a complete refusal to get compliant by all the public offices, let alone private companies.

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