Trends
Data concerns in Tumblr and WordPress deal with AI companies
Tumblr and WordPress.com are on the verge of striking deals to sell user data to artificial intelligence companies OpenAI and Midjourney. According to reports from 404 Media, Automattic, the parent company of both platforms, is close to finalizing an agreement to provide data for training the AI com…
Headline
Tumblr and WordPress.com are on the verge of striking deals to sell user data to artificial intelligence companies OpenAI and Midjourney. According to reports from 404 Media, Automattic, the parent company of both platforms, is close to finalizing an agreement to provide data…
Context
Tumblr and WordPress.com are on the verge of striking deals to sell user data to artificial intelligence companies OpenAI and Midjourney . According to reports from 404 Media, Automattic, the parent company of both platforms, is close to finalizing an agreement to provide data for training the AI companies’ models. The exact nature of the data to be included in the deal remains murky, but an alleged internal communication from Tumblr product manager Cyle Gage has raised concerns about the extent of data being prepared for transfer. The report indicates that the data may have encompassed private or partner-related information that was not intended to be part of the deal. This allegedly included private posts on public blog posts, deleted or suspended blogs, unanswered questions, private answers, explicit content, and material from premium partner blogs.
Evidence
Pending intelligence enrichment.
Analysis
Also read: OpenAI cures GPT-4 ‘laziness’ with new updates When approached for comment, Automattic responded with a published statement, emphasizing that only public content hosted on WordPress.com and Tumblr from sites that haven’t opted out will be shared. The company also highlighted its commitment to respecting all opt-out settings and announced plans to launch a new opt-out tool aimed at allowing users to block third parties, including AI companies, from training on their data. An alleged internal FAQ prepared by Automattic for the new opt-out tool suggests that the company will actively advocate for the removal of data upon user request. While the language used in the document to describe this process as “asking” and “advocating” may raise eyebrows, Andrew Spittle, Automattic’s AI head, has expressed confidence that the AI companies will honor these requests based on previous conversations. Also read: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and U.S. House Speaker navigate AI regulation challenges on capitol hill
Key Points
- Automattic is close to finalizing an agreement to provide data for training the AI companies’ models.
- AI data training deals have become a lucrative opportunity for websites treading water in today’s slippery online publishing landscape.
Actions
Pending intelligence enrichment.
