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Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

reuters.com

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Re: Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

#131

Post by coldtea »

simonw wrote: post #90
segasaturn wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My takeaway is that Microsoft has been trying to boil the frog, but slipped and turned the temperature up too quickly. They're retreating for now, but make no mistake that Recall will slowly trickle back into Windows under another name. Every major power broker wants something like Recall to become the norm - bosses to spy on their employees, governments to spy on their citizens/enemies, and tech CEO's to collect tra…

This is a very cynical take. I've not seen anything to make me think this feature is intended for surveillance as opposed to personal utility. The personal utility benefits are very clear to me - the problem is the ease with which malicious attackers might steal the data (if they can breach the system).

>This is a very cynical take.

But also very correct.

>I've not seen anything to make me think this feature is intended for surveillance as opposed to personal utility.

Now that's a very naive take.

They already use tons of telemetry to profie you for ads, snitch about you to your boss, share with partners, and so on, and only growing on that front. Plus all the cooperation they do with their favorite government.

Re: Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

#132

Post by usefulcat »

simonw wrote: post #90
segasaturn wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My takeaway is that Microsoft has been trying to boil the frog, but slipped and turned the temperature up too quickly. They're retreating for now, but make no mistake that Recall will slowly trickle back into Windows under another name. Every major power broker wants something like Recall to become the norm - bosses to spy on their employees, governments to spy on their citizens/enemies, and tech CEO's to collect tra…

This is a very cynical take. I've not seen anything to make me think this feature is intended for surveillance as opposed to personal utility. The personal utility benefits are very clear to me - the problem is the ease with which malicious attackers might steal the data (if they can breach the system).

> I've not seen anything to make me think this feature is intended for surveillance

What it's intended for and what it can actually be used for are two different things.

Re: Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

#134

Post by gnicholas »

I can see why they would want to hold onto this feature, since it would make their devices incredibly sticky. If you spent a year or two having an AI understand literally everything that happens on your screen, then you'd be hard-pressed to switch to a different platform that lacks that historical understanding. Assuming there's no way to port the data, this would all but guarantee that you're a customer for life.

It's possible Apple could have pulled this off. But MS has shown itself time and time again to be user-hostile and privacy-agnostic.

Re: Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

#135

Post by quickthrowman »

nimbius wrote: post #63

In summary: the only customers that matter --corporations paying site licenses-- declared this to be an unacceptable business risk. Anyone who is still using windows in 2024 and isnt a multinational business or llc gets what they deserve.

I work for an S-Corp with ~500 office employees and high nine-figure revenue (in dollars). All of our industry specific software is only available on Windows.

Re: Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

#136

Post by MP_1729 »

Satya Nadella's Microsoft is such a weird company. It's like there's one side of it that is running with Zuckerberg's "move fast and break things" and the other side is saying "wait, we're the most important software company in the world! Things can't break!"

Re: Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

#137

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

What is interesting is the contrast to Apple’s AI announcements.

Apple’s announcements were accompanied by an acknowledgment of the risk of privacy and a thorough analysis of the threat model and detailed design and specific steps taken to mitigate them. You can tell people with deep expertise spent time looking at the problem and coming up with solutions.

Microsoft Recall on the hand had the feeling of - Oh my, this has privacy implications, we never would have guessed???

That approach my Microsoft erodes trust. Apples’s approach builds trust.

Re: Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

#138

Post by bostik »

ugjka wrote: post #86
segasaturn wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My takeaway is that Microsoft has been trying to boil the frog, but slipped and turned the temperature up too quickly. They're retreating for now, but make no mistake that Recall will slowly trickle back into Windows under another name. Every major power broker wants something like Recall to become the norm - bosses to spy on their employees, governments to spy on their citizens/enemies, and tech CEO's to collect tra…

There are already Recall type of products on the market, not just that, they also work on the cloud not just locally. All Microsoft had to do was make it opt in by default

Yes, these existing products are generally called RATs or spousal stalkerware.

Re: Microsoft to delay release of Recall AI feature on security concerns

#140

Post by IshKebab »

wilsonnb3 wrote: post #119
nimbius wrote: post #63

In summary: the only customers that matter --corporations paying site licenses-- declared this to be an unacceptable business risk. Anyone who is still using windows in 2024 and isnt a multinational business or llc gets what they deserve.

> Anyone who is still using windows in 2024 and isnt a multinational business or llc gets what they deserve. Yeah, enjoy your just desserts of games that work, HDR that works, variable refresh rates that work, sleep and wake that works, the ability to run the software you need to use, one of the best IDEs available, fantastic backwards compatibility, etc

Eh who needs more than 90 minutes of battery life anyway?
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