X’s new terms of service raises concerns over AI usage and legal proceedings

X’s New Terms of Service Raises Concerns Over AI Usage and Legal Proceedings

X, a prominent social media platform, has announced new terms of service that are set to take effect on 15th November. The revised terms have sparked significant concern among users, particularly about the implications for content privacy and data utilisation in training artificial intelligence (AI) models.

According to the updated terms disclosed by X, users will grant the company a broad, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use their content. This includes the right to analyse the content for purposes such as training machine learning and AI models, both generative and otherwise. Essentially, continuing to use the platform post-November 15 implies consent to these terms, allowing X to leverage users’ data for AI training purposes.

The ability to use personal content to train AI systems has become a contentious issue, especially among artists and creative professionals. Many worry that their work could be utilised to develop AI models capable of reproducing content, potentially replacing human creators. Similarly, other users are concerned about their personal information being used without explicit permission. As a result, some have already started removing personal images from the platform.

In a notable addition, the new terms specify that all disputes arising from the service will be resolved in US District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts in Tarrant County, Texas. This location is notably over 100 miles from X’s headquarters situated outside Austin, Texas. The Northern District of Texas is known for its conservative leaning and is currently presiding over two lawsuits involving the Musk-owned X.

Prior to the updates, X provided an option for users to opt out of data sharing specifically for AI training via privacy settings. However, it remains unclear whether this opt-out option will remain available under the new terms. The updated agreement does not distinguish between different types of accounts, which previously allowed private accounts to avoid having their posts used for AI training. This has raised additional uncertainty about the ability to prevent personal information from being included in AI datasets.

AI chatbots, including X’s Grok, which has previously been involved in controversies such as spreading misinformation and generating inappropriate content, are central to the growing scrutiny on AI tools. Other tech companies, like Google and Microsoft, also face similar challenges with their AI offerings.

Alex Fink, CEO and founder of Otherweb, an AI-focused news platform, remarked that the clarity of X’s terms sets it apart. Although broad licensing is not unusual for social media platforms, the explicit nature of X’s new terms removes any ambiguity about their data utilisation intentions. It remains to be seen whether users can still effectively opt out despite the broad legal leeway the terms grant the company.

As the November 15 deadline approaches, users and industry experts continue to evaluate the implications of these changes and their potential impact on user rights and AI data practices.

Source: Noah Wire Services