X changed its terms of service to let its AI train on everyone’s posts
Kyiv • UNN
X updates its terms of service to allow the use of user content to train AI. This raises privacy and copyright concerns, and the ability to opt out of data sharing becomes uncertain.
Social network X updates its terms of service to allow the use of user content for AI training, CNN reports, UNN writes.
Details
According to the publication, when X introduced its new terms of service, which come into effect on November 15, users quickly noticed one change.
"By submitting, publishing, or displaying content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to make your content available to the rest of the world," the terms of service say, which include the right to analyze any such content, "including, for example, to use and train our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or otherwise.
Essentially, by continuing to use the platform, users agree that X can use the data to train its AI models.
The use of content to train AI has become a serious issue as technology has evolved. On X, artists and other creatives worry that their work is being used - not just on X - to train computers that may one day completely replace human creators. Other X users say they are concerned that personal information in their tweets could be used in this way. Some users have told the site that they have already started deleting their photos from their feeds.
And if users have any problems with these terms, they may end up in federal court. According to the update, all disputes related to the terms will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or in the state courts of Tarrant County in Texas.
X's terms state that any users who continue to use their products or services on or after November 15 will agree to the updated terms.
Grok, X's AI-powered chatbot, has already been at the center of scandal, from spreading false information about the 2024 elections to creating violent, graphic fake images of famous politicians. Companies from Google to Microsoft have also been criticized for sometimes strange artificial intelligence tools that are not at all true.
Until the latest update to the terms of service, X users could opt out of data sharing by going to "settings" and then "privacy and security." Under the heading of "data sharing and personalization," there is a tab for Grok where users can uncheck the box that allows the platform to use their data for AI training.
But it is not clear whether the new terms of service of X remove this possibility.
X previously stated that messages from personal accounts would not be used for Grok training. However, the wording of the terms of service does not distinguish between account types.
But only time will tell if you will still be able to refuse despite the new conditions.
