New X terms will allow all user data to train AI services

[Lauren Taylor]

BIG CHANGES ARE COMING FOR USERS OF X, AS THE COMPANY ANNOUNCED NEW TERMS OF SERVICE. STARTING NOVEMBER 15TH, THE COMPANY WILL BE ABLE TO USE  EVERYONE’S POSTS TO TRAIN ITS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MODELS.

THE UPDATED TERMS GIVE X A WORLDWIDE, ROYALTY-FREE LICENSE TO ANALYZE AND USE ANY CONTENT SHARED ON THE PLATFORM TO TRAIN ITS A-I. THIS MEANS EVERYTHING FROM PERSONAL TWEETS TO ARTWORK COULD BE USED TO DEVELOP MACHINE LEARNING MODELS.

THIS ISN’T SITTING WELL WITH MANY USERS, ESPECIALLY ARTISTS AND CREATORS WHO WORRY THEIR WORK MAY HELP POWER A-I SYSTEMS THAT COULD EVENTUALLY REPLACE THEM. OTHERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT PERSONAL DATA BEING INCLUDED IN THIS A-I TRAINING, WITH POTENTIAL FOR THIS DATABASE OF INFORMATION TO BE USED BY BAD ACTORS IN THE FUTURE.

PREVIOUSLY, USERS COULD OPT OUT OF HAVING THEIR DATA USED FOR A-I PURPOSES THROUGH PRIVACY SETTINGS, BUT IT’S UNCLEAR IF THAT OPTION WILL STILL EXIST UNDER THE NEW TERMS. THE LANGUAGE NO LONGER DIFFERENTIATES BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ACCOUNTS, MEANING ALL CONTENT MAY BE USED FOR A-I TRAINING.

X’S A-I CHATBOT, GROK, HAS ALREADY FACED ITS OWN CONTROVERSIES, INCLUDING ITS LACK OF REGULATION FOR GENERATING FALSE INFORMATION… AND FOR ITS ABILITY TO CREATE UNCENSORED FAKE IMAGES OF POLITICIANS AND PUBLIC FIGURES. AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CONTINUES TO GROW, SO DO CONCERNS ABOUT HOW IT’S BEING USED AND TRAINED.

THE NEW TERMS SAY ANY USERS WHO CONTINUE TO USE X ON OR AFTER NOVEMBER 15TH WOULD BE AGREEING TO HAVE THEIR DATA USED FOR TRAINING.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M LAUREN TAYLOR.

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