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The dirty underbelly of AI

Sep 07, 2023 - garymarcus.substack.com
The article discusses the exploitation of personal data by the AI industry, including companies like Facebook, Google, and Zoom, and even car companies. It cites a report by Mozilla which reveals that all 25 car companies they studied had terms of service that allowed them to invade users' privacy, collecting vast amounts of personal data, including income, immigration status, race, and even sexual activity. This data is often sold, and opting out is made difficult, as demonstrated by a passage from Tesla's Terms of Service.

The author, Gary Marcus, criticizes the current AI paradigm for its excessive data greed, arguing that it's possible to imagine an alternative AI paradigm that could learn to be effective without needing to access personal data. However, such a paradigm does not yet exist, and the current system continues to feed on private data, whether individuals like it or not. Marcus expresses hope that AI will ultimately be beneficial, but cautions against taking this for granted.

Key takeaways:

  • Mozilla released a report revealing that 25 different car companies have terms of service that allow them to invade user’s privacy and collect personal data.
  • The data collected by these car companies can include information about income, immigration status, race, genetic information, and sexual activity. They can also access photos, calendars, and to-do lists.
  • The collected data is often sold, and users do not receive any compensation.
  • Opting out of data collection is difficult and can result in reduced functionality or damage to the vehicle, as stated in Tesla's Terms of Service.
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