Rant: Dear Big Tech, Take a Hike with Your Forced AI
- by Malte Mansholt
- 🕒 Approx Reading Time: 3 minutes
Tech Companies: Hands Off with Imposed AI; Respect User Privacy and autonomy - Tech Giants Persistently Intrude with Unwanted AI, Disregarding User's Privacy and Preferences
It's here, folks - that blasted blue ring. It glows at me every time I crack open WhatsApp. A delete-me-now invitation to tap it and chat with Meta's annoying AI bot. But gimme a break, I don't want to, and I bet plenty of others share my sentiment. But we can't escape the bot - it's forced upon us, whether we like it or not.
The pressure to use AI is building. Whether it's on WhatsApp, Google, or any other big-name platform - they're shoving AI features down our throats without even asking if we want them. Is this what consent looks like these days? I think not.
AI? Sign me up. But...
That doesn't mean I'm anti-AI. Hell no! I use the ever-popular ChatGPT for all sorts of tasks, let AI programs fine-tune my photos, and even had an AI bot book me a flight connection once. AI is damn useful, but only when I want it to take over the reigns.
In many cases, it's fine for AI to work silently in the background. I mean, did you know that your smartphone's photos are edited by AI to get the best results? Or that your photo library uses AI to sort your pics into categories like vacations and pets? AI is just a tool to make things better - it's not the main event. I don't treat AI like a digital butler I can chat with; it's more like the dishwasher that helps me out around the house.
AI on steroids
But it seems that some companies are pushing AI on us even when we don't want it. Take Google and Meta. They're desperate for us to engage with their AI features, so they can get their grubby hands on even more of our personal information. Google's AI summary allows them to track which and how many websites we visit, and ads are displayed directly on Google. Meta's AI lets them know everything about our conversations and group chats - think of it as digital eavesdropping.
In the case of WhatsApp, Meta's AI is like striking gold - they can read and analyze our conversations with the bot and group chats they're invited to in plain text. Talk about invasive! And don't even get me started on Meta linking data across their services like WhatsApp or Instagram, which is technically illegal in the EU. But if you use Meta AI in several of these offers, the company could argue that it's the same service, sidestepping the rules.
WhatsApp listening in
Not only does Meta already know way too much about us, but theMeta AI could be just the loophole they need to link the data even closer. The EU has banned the company from linking the data of the same customers across several Meta services. But if you use Meta AI in several of these offers, the company could argue that it's the same service.
And don't get me started on the risks for parents. It's virtually impossible to block WhatsApp for kids - the messenger is so embedded in our culture that banning it outright would be like severing Friendship Central. Since the AI in WhatsApp can't be completely turned off, kids now have unlimited access to a creepy AI bot with all the potential dangers that come with it.
So long, Apple
On the other hand, Apple is showing us how it's done. Their AI offerings, available in Germany since early April, aren't groundbreaking, but the key difference is that users can decide specifically whether and which of the features they want to use. If my iPhone now summarizes my notifications, sometimes the results are bizarre, but I can turn off the feature, or even ban Apple Intelligence from my iPhone altogether. Now that's what I call control.
In conclusion, it's about time big tech companies started respecting our privacy and giving us a choice in the matter. I can live with AI when I want it, but forcing it upon me is, quite frankly, bullshit. We deserve better.
Caveat: For the purpose of this rant, I focused on the forced AI integration in WhatsApp, Google, and Apple, as the enrichment data specified. To learn more about other messaging apps and AI control, consult the latest updates or developer forums for those platforms.
- The Commission has also been consulted on the draft regulation regarding WhatsApp's forced integration of Meta's AI, which is a cause for concern due to potential invasions of privacy.
- While I appreciate the usefulness of AI tools like ChatGPT, I don't welcome forced AI integration on platforms like WhatsApp, Google, or Meta, where I am expected to engage with AI features without consent.
- If AI was supposed to make life easier, then why is it available only as a forced feature on certain platforms, like WhatsApp and Meta, rather than being optional and user-controlled, as in the case of Apple's AI offerings?
