Meta Platforms has announced that it will begin training its AI models using public content shared by adults on Instagram and Facebook in the coming months.
As per Meta:
“We will begin training for AI at Meta using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram in the UK over the coming months. This means that our generative AI models will reflect British culture, history, and idiom, and that UK companies and institutions will be able to utilise the latest technology. We’re building AI at Meta to reflect the diverse communities around the world and we look forward to launching it in more countries and languages later this year.”
From next week, Meta said adult users in the UK will begin to see in-app notifications explaining what it’s doing, including how they can access an objection form at any time. They will not contact anyone who has already objected.
Meta has emphasized the “additional transparency” of their new approach:
“We do not use people’s private messages with friends and family to train for AI at Meta, and we do not use information from accounts of people in the UK under the age of 18. We’ll use public information – such as public posts and comments, or public photos and captions – from accounts of adult users on Instagram and Facebook to improve generative AI models for our AI at Meta features and experiences, including for people in the UK.”
This announcement follows Meta’s decision in June to pause the launch of its AI models in Europe.
Back in May, Meta notified users about an upcoming privacy policy change, stating that it would begin using content from comments, interactions with companies, status updates, and photos and their associated captions for their AI training.
This announcement provoked massive popular backlash and prompted privacy rights nonprofit NOYB to file a dozen complaints with constituent EU countries. Time will tell how various privacy groups will react to Meta’s latest update and if it will affect the tech giant’s policies.
