Upon reaching a milestone of 16 million users, the social media platform Bluesky found itself in a delicate position. Artists and content creators from X.com expressed concerns about their content being used to train generative AI. Bluesky swiftly reassured its users, stating that they have no intention of utilizing posted content in this manner.
The Bluesky team elaborated on their AI practices, emphasizing their use in content moderation and algorithmic feed recommendations. These AI systems are not trained on user content, ensuring privacy and data security for Bluesky users. Despite this explanation, some users, like Casey Johnston, remain wary of potential future changes in policy.
In contrast to Bluesky’s stance, X.com, led by Elon Musk, has significantly altered its privacy policy. The platform now plans to utilize user content to train its Grok language model, raising concerns among users about the exploitation of their data for corporate gain. This shift in policy marks a troubling trend of platforms leveraging user content for AI development.
Recent updates to X.com’s privacy policy allow for the sharing of user data with third-party collaborators for AI training purposes. This change comes into effect immediately, granting these entities access to public posts and interactions to enhance their AI models. Users are advised to review and adjust their privacy settings to prevent their content from being harvested for AI training purposes.
As the landscape of social media evolves, the importance of data privacy and user consent becomes increasingly crucial. Bluesky’s commitment to transparency and user protection stands in stark contrast to the questionable practices of other platforms. Users must remain vigilant and informed to safeguard their valuable data in the ever-changing digital realm.
