Rolling Stone feature: Zoom is using you to train AI

Zoom, the virtual communications platform that millions use for remote work, is facing backlash over an updated policy allowing it to train their AI products on customer data pulled from meetings. But experts say this not an isolated case — it’s a sign of how big tech plans to harvest and leverage your personal information going forward.

But whatever the fallout for Zoom, they won’t be the last tech giant to train new AI products on user behavior — with or without the users’ knowledge. According to AI researchers, this is just the next phase of a process that is already widespread across the internet.

Rolling Stone journalist Miles Klee speaks with AZK Founder and Managing Director, Azadeh Williams about the fact that collecting data to inform AI is not 'out of the blue' practice for the likes of Zoom and Facebook.

“The concept of technology platforms and devices collecting and analyzing your data is nothing new,” says Azadeh Williams, who sits on the executive board of the Global AI Ethics Institute. “Social media platforms and apps have been doing this for years.”

Just as Facebook allowed third-party developers to scrape personal info, and Google illegally tracked the location of Android users, the major players in Silicon Valley are now primed to seize your content in order to speed development of artificial intelligence.

Read the full story here.