One of the things I hate about AI is how it makes everyone lower their standards with regard to user privacy.
Including companies like Apple that have a well deserved reputation for protecting it.
Yesterday I got a push notification about a new feature in the Feedback app that everyone in the iOS beta has installed. There’s a new “Rate Your Experiences”.
Which is a cleverly named function that sends your and your friends private data to Apple in plain text.
There’s a new purple button:
When you tap on that button, you get a short overview:
You are reassured that everything stays on device, but as we’ll shortly see, that’s a lie.
Now I’m curious, how do you improve AI responses without the original plain text that generated them?
The next screen tells me I can rate with thumbs up or down. Seems reasonable.
And earn points - this is when my horseshit detectors went to 11.
You are then presented with personal messages with the Apple Intelligence.
For example:
When you do a thumbs down, Apple wants the data.
This is where it goes off the rails and becomes a privacy clusterfuck.
This is the next screen:
9 messages from friends are attached to the response AUTOMATICALLY.
It took me awhile to even figure out how to remove them (they, like other FB reports have attachments, and they can be deleted).
Most people are just going to press the big purple button.
The HUGE issue here is not my privacy, but the privacy of whoever I’m communicating with via Email or Messages.
Do I have the right to send a private message where a family member tells me they lost a pregnancy?
Do I have the right to send a private message where a friend tells me they are depressed and considering suicide?
Hell no.
Yet with this UI it’s easy to do just that.
There are likely some legal issues here, and it’s unlike Apple to get anywhere near legal gray areas.
But again, AI makes companies do absolutely insane shit all in the name of DATA.
/fin
@chockenberry all social media has been a second hand privacy disaster from the beginning. People tagging other people in the photos, uploading other people’s address, phone numbers and other data with their contacts list, direct messaging that is unencrypted.
AI in general has put this on steroids, and I’d saddens me to see, that Apple’s comparatively strong stance on privacy is crumbling under the pressure "not to fall behind”.
I just hope there is global opt-out as with all feedback.
Craig Hockenberry
smartasshat
FreediverX
Jan Lehnardt 
Klongeiger
Owen 🇦🇺