Microsoft Office users may be unknowingly contributing their content to AI training datasets, as the company's "Connected Experiences" feature comes enabled by default in popular applications like Word and Excel.
According to cybersecurity expert @nixCraft, Microsoft evades detection through its data collection from documents to enhance its artificial intelligence models - all without explicitly informing users or requiring their consent first.
The concerning part? Opting out of this data collection requires navigating through seven different menu layers in Windows: File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Optional Connected Experiences.
This hidden toggle affects a wide range of content, including potentially sensitive business documents, creative works, and intellectual property. While Microsoft hasn't officially confirmed these claims, their Services Agreement includes broad language allowing them to use customer content for "improving Microsoft products and services."
The agreement grants Microsoft "a worldwide and royalty-free intellectual property license" to utilize user content, including making copies and reformatting materials.
Industry observers note this reflects a growing pattern among tech companies of implementing opt-out rather than opt-in policies for AI training data collection. The practice raises ethical questions about consent and transparency in how user-generated content is being utilized.
For users concerned about their content being used for AI training, the recommendation is to manually disable the "Optional Connected Experiences" feature through the multi-step process in settings. However, many users may remain unaware that their documents are being analyzed by default.
Microsoft has not yet responded to requests for comment on these data collection practices or the reasoning behind making it an opt-out rather than opt-in feature.
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