this post was submitted on 21 May 2024
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As long as this is opt-in and users understand the risks, then I don't have a problem with it. I wouldn't use it on my personal PC, but it would probably be handy for my work PC. (Although my organization would probably block the feature for security reasons. So maybe it's not actually that useful after all.)
It'll be opt-out with the setting in some obscure and hard to find menu, just like every other AI program. And that's if they're required to even allow you to opt out.
And it'll accidentally turn itself back on after updates. And data will accidentally leave your device.
This is conjecture. Maybe we should wait before we make assumptions? Am I being too logical for /c/technology?
It's conjecture based on evidence from the way previous companies have handled AI data as well as the way Microsoft themselves generally handle things.
I'd rather prepare for the corporate greed and be pleasantly surprised than be disappointed when Microsoft does something that will negatively impact their userbase in the name of profits again (or MAUs or whatever else looks good on the quarterly report).
It's amazing how spiteful the Linux folks are... Look at all those downvotes on this.
You bring up an incredibly good point here. I can't think of any large business that would allow this. This almost guarantees that this feature will not be mandatory, to say the very least.
This said, I'd not want this on my work computer. I'd be concerned it could become a slippery slope of monitoring employees in the name of efficiency.
The whole thing is going to be run on a local LLM. They don't have to upload that data anywhere for this to work (it will work offline). But considering what they already do, Microsoft is going to have to do a lot to prove that they aren't doing this.