There was a huge uproar when it was pointed out that the function to share Dropbox user data with OpenAI was enabled by default, but in reality it was only for AI function users.
Two months after Dropbox
Dropbox spooks users with new AI features that send data to OpenAI when used | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/12/dropbox-spooks-users-by-sending-data-to-openai-for-ai-search-features/
The problem settings are below. “Using artificial intelligence (AI) from a third-party partner (OpenAI) helps us work faster with Dropbox. We only use technology partners that we vet. will not be used to train our partners' internal models and will be deleted from third-party servers within 30 days.'
Artist Carla Ortiz, who saw this setting, pointed out that it 'shares the data of all users,' and the post has been viewed more than 2 million times on X.
For those wondering who the Third Party @Dropbox just gave everyone's data automatically to, it's Open AI.
— Karla Ortiz (@kortizart) December 13, 2023
Considering all the lawsuits Open AI has concerning illicit use of ill-gotten data, privacy breaches and data leaks this arrangement inspires 0 confidence.Bad move Dropbox. https://t.co/rbavE3KFq6 pic.twitter.com/Muk8L3rK9I
After this, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston released a statement. 'The settings menu enables or disables access to AI features and does not automatically or passively transmit Dropbox customer data to third-party AI services.'
The third-party AI toggle in the settings menu enables or disables access to DBX AI features and functionality. Neither this nor any other setting automatically or passively sends any Dropbox customer data to a third-party AI service.
— Drew Houston (@drewhouston) December 13, 2023
At the time of writing, Dropbox's AI functionality is provided as an alpha version. According to Dropbox, the above settings will be turned on by default if you participate in the alpha version. By turning on this setting, content related to requests or commands to the AI is sent to a third party, so that a response can be obtained from the AI. In this case, the submitted content will not be used for model training.
However, it also states that files in Dropbox may be sent to a third-party AI, such as when you ask a question about a file. In response to the fact that these settings, which are directly linked to privacy, were turned on by default, AI researcher Simon Willison said, ``This case shows how carefully and clearly companies are controlling AI access to personal data.'' 'It's a great example of when we should communicate the situation.'
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in Software, Web Service, Posted by log1p_kr