Is Zoom Using Our Calls to Train AI?

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Backlash over fears that Zoom trained its artificial intelligence models on customer calls caused the company to change its terms of service.

Users noticed changes to the company’s terms of service back in March, which they worried enabled AI training, but Zoom responded by saying it made the changes to be more transparent. The company released a blog in which they insisted that audio, video, and chats were not used to train AI without the consent of the users.

Back in June 2023, Zoom launched new AI-powered features that were offered for a free trial. One of these features lets clients summarise meetings without having to record an entire session.

Several experts, however, were alarmed by the original wording of the terms of service and warned that they could have allowed Zoom to access more user data than needed.

Zoom made changes to its terms and conditions earlier this week and included the line “Zoom will not use audio, video or chat customer content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent.”

According to BBC News, Zoom has joined countless tech companies worldwide in focusing on AI-based abilities, but the ‘Open Rights Group’ has warned that Zoom’s decision to launch the features as a free trial and encourage customers to “opt-in” made the changes “more alarming”.

A Zoom spokesperson came out with a statement on Monday reiterating that customers could decide whether they wanted to enable the new AI features, and separately whether to share customer content with Zoom for “product improvement purposes”. They also stated that people who agreed to share their information with the company would “be presented with a transparent consent process for training our AI models using your customer content”.