Meta has announced that it will start utilizing publicly shared content from adult users in the UK on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram, to enhance its artificial intelligence models. The content in question includes posts, comments, photos, and captions shared by adult users on these social media sites. In a statement, Meta expressed its commitment to developing AI that mirrors the rich diversity of global communities and is eager to expand its efforts to more countries and languages later this year.
Importantly, Meta clarified that it will not use data from accounts belonging to individuals under the age of 18 in the UK.
In July, the company temporarily halted its AI initiatives in the European Union following directives from the Irish Data Protection Commission, which mandated a pause in the rollout of its AI assistant due to concerns surrounding data privacy. While Meta leverages data from Facebook and Instagram users to train its AI systems, it maintains that this is done with user consent, and individuals are offered the option to opt out.
Meta emphasized that only public information would be utilized. This means that posts, comments, photos, and captions from adult users on Instagram and Facebook will contribute to the development of generative AI models for various features and experiences, including those available to users in the UK.
In relation to this, UK-based adults using Facebook and Instagram will soon receive in-app notifications outlining how Meta plans to use their data, along with an option to object to its use for AI training purposes.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which oversees the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), has been intensifying its scrutiny of AI practices. On September 12, the DPC initiated a cross-border investigation into Google Ireland Limited to assess whether it adhered to EU data protection laws while creating its AI model.
This inquiry is focused on the utilization of personal data from EU citizens in training Google’s Pathways Language Model 2 (PaLM2), an advanced language model introduced on May 10, 2023, known for its superior multilingual capabilities, reasoning skills, and coding proficiency.
The DPC’s investigation into Google follows a separate inquiry into the social media platform X, which concluded after X committed to meet the necessary compliance standards. On September 4, X agreed to cease using personal data from users within the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) for training its AI chatbot, Grok.
In a related note, some experts suggest that AI may already consume more energy than Bitcoin, raising concerns about its impact on Bitcoin mining.