X Social Media to Share User Data for AI Training: A New Era of Data Monetization

Saturday 19 October 2024 - 09:04

Starting November 15, X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, will permit third-party companies to access user data, including posts, likes, bookmarks, and reposts, for the purpose of training artificial intelligence models. This significant policy shift was detailed in an updated privacy notice released by the company.

The new policy states that users will be automatically opted in unless they choose to opt out. "Depending on your settings, or if you decide to share your data, we may share or disclose your information with third parties," the policy explains. It further clarifies that recipients may utilize this information for their own purposes, which could include training generative AI models.

As the value of user data continues to rise, social media platforms are increasingly recognizing it as a lucrative asset. Ritesh Kotak, a cybersecurity and technology analyst based in Toronto, remarked on the competitive landscape: "This is the latest arms race. Everyone is working towards AI supremacy. The more datasets you have, the more accurate your model will be."

This change follows X's earlier decision to allow its own Grok chatbot to utilize user data for training, a move that attracted scrutiny from European regulators and resulted in an agreement to halt such data collection from that region.

Other platforms like LinkedIn and Meta have also adapted their policies to leverage user data for AI development. Ajay Shrestha, a computer science professor at Vancouver Island University, noted that these companies are exploring new revenue streams amid declining advertising revenues. He pointed out that traditional monetization methods are becoming less effective.

Social media posts are particularly appealing to AI firms due to their emotional content and the insights they provide into human behavior. Kotak emphasized that while these posts might lack technical quality, they offer rich material for sentiment analysis.

Currently, users of X have not been given an option to opt out of this new data-sharing policy ahead of its implementation date. Kotak warned that opting out after training has commenced may not effectively remove a user's data from the AI model's learning process. "If you're not paying for the product, you are the product," he stated bluntly.

For those concerned about their privacy and how their data may be used in AI training, navigating X’s settings will be crucial. Users can typically opt out by adjusting their preferences under privacy and safety settings; however, Kotak cautioned that once data is integrated into an AI model, reversing its influence is nearly impossible.