No, Microsoft isn’t using your Office docs to train its AI

Microsoft says it isn’t utilizing lawsuit information from its Microsoft 365 apps to bid its AI models. The clarification addresses reports circulating online successful the past fewer weeks claiming Microsoft required Word and Excel users to opt retired of grooming the company’s AI systems.

The disorder arose from a privateness mounting successful Microsoft Office that toggles “optional connected experiences” — a diagnostic that helps users “search for online pictures” oregon “find accusation disposable online,” according to Microsoft. This toggle is switched connected by default, and doesn’t notation AI grooming successful the disclosure. Similarly, a Microsoft learning papers posted connected October 21st, 2024 seems to person contributed to the disorder by describing a agelong database of connected experiences successful Office that “analyze your content” without explicitly excluding AI training.

“In the M365 apps, we bash not usage lawsuit information to bid LLMs,” the Microsoft 365 X relationship said, responding to claims. “This mounting lone enables features requiring net entree similar co-authoring a document.” Microsoft’s communications caput Frank Shaw also chimed successful connected Bluesky to debunk the claims. 

The Adobe and Microsoft incidents suggest that radical are progressively acrophobic with their idiosyncratic information being utilized by tech companies to bid their AI models without explicit permission. It’s an understandable interest given companies similar Meta, X, and Google opt their users into AI grooming by default, and the immense quantities of online contented being scraped for that purpose.