Microsoft on Wednesday denied allegations that it utilises user data from its Microsoft 365 applications, such as Word and Excel, to train its artificial intelligence models.
This statement followed a wave of social media concerns raised by users regarding the company’s “connected experiences” feature, which requires users to opt-out if they do not want their data used for AI training.
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“These claims are untrue. Microsoft does not use customer data from Microsoft 365 consumer and commercial applications to train foundational large language models,” clarified a Microsoft spokesperson.
Clarification on Data Usage
Microsoft emphasised that the “connected experiences” feature is designed to enhance functionalities like collaborative editing and cloud storage. It is not linked to the training processes for their AI models.
To ease concerns about data misuse, the spokesperson stated that user data is not used to train basic models.
The clarification seemed not to assuage concerns as social media users continued to worry about a possible data breach.
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User concerns and corporate responsibility
The discussion demonstrates that consumers are becoming more conscious of how tech companies manage user data, particularly about the development of artificial intelligence.
Some have expressed concern that turning off some features might not be sufficient to prevent their information from being used in ways they did not consent to.
As AI technologies improve, being open about how they handle data is important for maintaining users’ trust. Microsoft’s strong opposition to using customer data for AI training shows how important it is for the tech industry to be clear about its data privacy rules.