️ The UK data watchdog is contacting Meta following a 'concerning' report claiming that outsourced workers were able to view sensitive content filmed by the company's AI smart glasses.
️ Meta stated that subcontracted workers might sometimes review content, including films and images, captured... by its AI smart glasses to improve the 'experience'.
️ According to an investigation by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) and Goteborgs-Posten (GP), videos, including of glasses-wearers using the toilet or having sex, are sometimes reviewed by a Kenya-based Meta subcontractor.
️ Meta said it takes the protection of people's data very seriously and is constantly refining its efforts and tools in that area.
️ The company claimed that data is first filtered to protect privacy, but sources who spoke to SvD and GP said sometimes this fails, and people's faces can be seen.
️ Users have to activate recording manually or through a voice command but may not realize their videos and images are sometimes reviewed by humans, as described in Meta's extensive privacy policies and terms of service.
️ The UK's data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), said it will be writing to Meta to request information on how it is meeting its obligations under UK data protection law.
️ The workers the Swedish papers spoke to were data annotators, teaching Meta's AI to interpret images by manually labeling content.
️ They were employed by a Nairobi-based outsourcing company called Sama, which has a history of work in data annotation.
️ The workers also reviewed transcripts of interactions with the AI to check if it had answered questions adequately.
️ They described privacy protections in their workplace, with cameras everywhere and no mobile phones permitted.
️ Meta's glasses have a light in the corner of the frames that turns on when the built-in camera is recording images or videos.
️ The firm warns against misuse of the tech, advising users to show others when the recording light is on and avoid recording in private spaces.
️ Rapid advancements in AI have resulted in a proliferation of wearable gadgets that use AI to interpret images and sounds captured by the device.
️ However, as the devices have grown in popularity, so too have concerns about their misuse.
️ Data annotator Sama began as a non-profit organization with the aim of increasing employment through the provision of tech jobs.
️ It is designated as an 'ethical' B-corp, but a previous contract providing content moderation services to tech companies attracted criticism alongside legal action by former employees.
