According to Reuters, Meta has openly admitted to using a substantial volume of public Facebook and Instagram posts to train its AI models. This revelation came to light following the launch of its new AI assistants. Despite efforts to exclude personal information, the move has raised serious concerns and is anticipated to lead to legal confrontations.
Meta claims that this use of public posts for AI training is within the bounds of fair use, a legal doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without obtaining permission. However, this assertion is expected to be legally contested by content creators and copyright owners who argue against the unauthorized use of their material for AI development.
The situation underscores the urgent need for unambiguous data use policies. Clear and comprehensive guidelines are essential to ensure the ethical use and advancement of AI technologies, balancing technological progress with the protection of individual rights and privacy. But how will we do it?
Talking about it is a good place to start. Over the past 20 years, we all let our data be collected and used by all kinds of tech organizations. If you ask the average person, they’ll tell you that ordinary people are powerless when it comes to fighting big tech. This is the “new new fight.” Get into it. You can make a difference.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it. This work was created with the assistance of various AI models, including but not limited to: GPT-4, Bard, Claude, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and others.