Microsoft Word is using you to train “AI”

[klu9]

OSNews - Microsoft Word is using you to train “AI”

Some info from the comments there:

• It's not just Word, but also other parts of MS Office like Powerpoint.
• Even if you do find and select the deeply-buried opt out, MS repeatedly undoes your choice and opts you back in.

[stevengarland]

Use Libre Office

[MurphCID]

That is why my version is a 2010 copy of Office.

[GreenIsBest]

*yawns in MSO 2010 + LO*
Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake.
And I don't mean the usual "indirectly promote Linux/LibreOffice" argument.
Considering how poorly and hastly the average person writes on a daily basis, sometimes even on serious/official documents, what could possibly go wrong with feeding a nigh-unlimited supply of sub-par writing to a mindless indiscriminating "Clippy 2.0" that is most likely programmed for convenience and political-correctness over actual quality or academic/technical rigor?

As they say it in computer siences: "garbage in, garbage out"
Let them sink one of their flagship products even lower than it already has.

Even on someting as basic as a dictionary and grammar-checker, the current avaiable products have experienced a steady decrease in quality, both MSO's and standalone alternatives.
Part of the reason why I keep using MSO 2010, besides the obvious ones, is that they are the only Linux compatible office suite (Platinum score in Wine) that has an actually good quality dictionary/grammar tools for my language; even most of the current real-time-allways-online-cloud alternatives fail at mistakes so basic even I can spot.
That's quite embarassing, when a 15 year old offline-only software with outdated dictionaries, is still beating most of today's tools that have access to unlimited data via their server/internet side.

[Graham43]

That's quite embarassing, when a 15 year old offline-only software with outdated dictionaries, is still beating most of today's tools that have access to unlimited data via their server/internet side.

Honestly I feel like you can say that about a lot of technology today - they keep coming out with all these new 'great tools' for us to use where most of them seem to either A) make life more complicated, B) Don't do the job as well or C) Both of the above, I posted about this before, in my case it wasn't so much computer related I just wanted to listen to music (just a note for the music I stayed with the cassette player)

[rickNS]

I did NOT read, but WOW what a shock, Microsoft using people ? What ?
Or stealing others' work, I can not imagine.
Bill, such an upstanding guy and all.
I may not be able to sleep tonight.

[Professor_Slughorn]

Bill who? Satya Nadella is Chairman and CEO now.

[rickNS]

Bill who? Satya Nadella is Chairman and CEO now.

Just another rat in the nest. Allowing these things to go on it's a difference without a distinction.
They started changing users settings back in Vista, that's when I quit

[sylvain1_]

Microsoft denies that they are using your documents to train AI. https://www.howtogeek.com/is-microsoft- ... -train-ai/

I do not know whether or not to believe them. Maybe they are not using your documents to "train" AI, but that does not mean that they will not use AI to analyze your documents. Nor does it mean that the AI analysis will not be communicated to Microsoft.

Unfortunately, it sometimes feels like using proprietary software requires you to accept whatever the corporation says as a pinky promise. Since nobody outside the company is allowed to look at the code, we are at their mercy in regards to promises like this. That is one reason why it is important to use libre software instead of proprietary software.

[klu9]

Well, that does sound like a definite denial.

But they also sneak in that phrase "industry standard". Which tech PR seems to trot out whenever they want to hide or justify a multitude of sins by implying "everybody else in Big Tech is doing this awful stuff too".