Meta confirmed on Friday that it will begin training its artificial intelligence (AI) models using publicly available data from Instagram and Facebook in the UK. The company initially planned to use the data three months ago, but the plan was halted due to regulatory issues. However, the social media giant confirmed that it has now received approval to continue with AI training. The company claims that this will enable the AI model to more accurately reflect the culture of British users.
Meta stressed in the press room that it had previously paused plans to train AI models using UK user data because the country’s regulator expressed concerns about how the data is used after collection and how users can opt out. However, the company claimed that it has “actively engaged” with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and is restarting the plan. Meta said it will start using the data to train AI in the coming months.
The social media giant claims that Meta AI was trained using this data in order to better reflect British culture, history, and idioms when people interact with the AI. Furthermore, it adds that the tech giant aims to reflect diverse communities around the world by training it on localized user data.
Meta highlighted how the company will collect data, clarifying that it will not collect information from users under 18 in the UK. Private data such as messages sent to friends and family will not be used to train the AI. It added: “We will use public information from adult user accounts on Instagram and Facebook, such as public posts and comments, or public photos and captions.”
Starting next week, adult users in the UK will begin receiving notifications on Facebook and Instagram that will explain what Meta is trying to do and how it is doing it. In addition, the notifications will explain how users can access the objection form to stop Meta from using their data to train generative AI models. Users who have already objected will not receive any notification and their data will not be used.
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