Meta reignites plans to train AI using UK users’ public Facebook and Instagram posts | TechCrunch
Meta has confirmed that it’s restarting efforts to train its AI systems using public Facebook and Instagram posts from its U.K. userbase.
The announcement comes three months after Facebook’s parent company paused its plans due to regulatory pressure in the U.K., with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) raising concerns over how the company might use U.K. user data to train its generative AI algorithms. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta’s lead regulator in the European Union (EU), also objected to Meta’s plans after receiving feedback from several data protection authorities across the bloc — there is no word yet on when, or if, Meta will restart its EU AI training efforts.
Meta says it has now “incorporated regulatory feedback” to ensure that its approach is “even more transparent,” and from next week users will start to see in-app notifications explaining what it’s doing. From there, it will start using public content to train its AI in the coming months.
“This means that our generative AI models will reflect British culture, history, and idiom, and that U.K. companies and institutions will be able to utilise the latest technology,” the company wrote in a blog post. “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.”
Objections
One of the many bones of contention first time around was how Meta enabled users to opt-out. Rather than giving users a straight ‘opt-in / out’ check-box, the company made users jump through hoops to find an objection form hidden behind multiple clicks or taps, at which point they were forced to state why they didn’t want their data to be processed. It was entirely at Meta’s discretion as to whether this request was honored, however the company said publicly that it would honor each request.
This time around, Meta is sticking with the objection form approach, meaning users will still have to formally apply to Meta to let them know that they don’t want their data used to improve Meta’s AI systems. Those who have previously objected won’t have to resubmit their objections, however.
The company says it has made its objection form simpler this time around, incorporating feedback from the ICO, though it hasn’t yet explained how.
This is a developing story, refresh for updates.