Meta using your Facebook posts

There’s a village in Norway called Hell: And yes, it freezes over every winter. So, the next time someone says "when hell freezes over", you just need to wait until winter.

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What’s in store:

• Meta is using our posts for AI, and people have mixed feelings.

• Why AI’s 3D smarts could be the next big thing.

• Around the web: Disney and DirecTV settle their dispute, restoring ESPN, ABC, and adding flexible packages with Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus.

• Unlock your full potential with Dashworks!

Read Time: 6 minutes

META

Privacy on pause?

Meta is moving ahead with its plan to use public posts from UK Facebook and Instagram users to train its AI models, even though the same idea is blocked in the EU due to privacy laws.

The project was paused in June after the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) raised concerns about user privacy, but it’s now back on after Meta made some changes, such as letting users opt out.

Privacy groups like the Open Rights Group (ORG) and None of Your Business (NOYB) are unhappy with the plan.

They say Meta is turning people into "unpaid test subjects" without asking for their permission, and they’ve asked the ICO to step in.

The ICO hasn’t given the plan full approval but said it will keep an eye on Meta’s actions.

In Europe, these plans are still blocked, but Meta has confirmed it will move forward in the UK.

This marks another example of the UK differing in policy post-Brexit, potentially opening it up for more AI investment.

Meta assures that private messages and posts from people under 18 won’t be used. You really don’t want to train an AI on my group chats.

Meta argues this will help their AI reflect British culture and help UK companies use the latest AI technology.

Here’s what you should know:

• The ICO has not approved Meta’s plan but will be monitoring it closely.

• Meta has added an opt-out option for users who don’t want their posts used for AI training.

• Posts from under-18s and private messages will not be used for AI training.

A VERY watchful eye

Meta says this move will help their AI better represent British culture, history, and language, which will benefit UK companies as they adopt AI technology. So, AI is gonna be all in on tea and crumpets.

They also plan to expand this to other countries and languages later this year.

Stephen Almond from the ICO stressed that companies need to be clear about how they’re using people’s data and ensure proper safeguards are in place.

Meta is responsible for complying with these rules.

The ICO was like “We’ll watch, but no thumbs up just yet.”

Vote for live results and see results + opinions from yesterday at the bottom of the email.

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On This Day

September 16th 1908 - General Motors Corporation is founded by William C. Durant and Charles Stewart Mott.

Trending Tools

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AI STARTUPS

World Labs’ $230M quest to bring AI into the 3D world

Fei-Fei Li, a leading figure in AI, has raised $230 million for her startup, World Labs.

The company focuses on an AI which can understand how the 3D physical world works.

Major investors include Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates, Radical Ventures, and tech giants like AMD, Intel, and Nvidia.

Li, a Stanford professor and former AI lead at Google Cloud, is well-known for creating ImageNet, which helped improve how AI recognises objects.

Along with co-founders Justin Johnson, Christoph Lassner, and Ben Mildenhall, Li aims to develop "spatial intelligence," allowing AI to better grasp and navigate the 3D world.

Here are the facts:

• World Labs is creating AI that understands the 3D world, with applications in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and robotics.

• The company secured $230 million in backing from investors like Nvidia and Intel.

• World Labs uses both synthetic and real-world data to train "large world models" (LWMs) for better AI understanding.

AI knows 3D now

The startup, based in San Francisco with 20 employees, is working on "large world models" that combine synthetic and real-world data.

Li believes this technology will help solve current AI issues like rendering mistakes and will lead to a better understanding of 3D environments.

These advancements could have a big impact on areas like AR, VR, and robotics, improving how AI interacts with the world.

The first step towards my AI butler?

Mindstream Picks

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Crypto: Uphold stirs excitement by speculating XRP could reach $1,000, sparking community reactions amid the token's recent surge as Bitcoin returns to $60K.

Games: Embracer completed the Saber Interactive divestment, excluding 4A Games and Zen Studios.

Sports: George Russell topped the final practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, despite red flags and Ollie Bearman's crash.

Don’t Miss - Disney and DirecTV have resolved their carriage dispute, restoring ESPN, ABC, and other Disney-owned channels to DirecTV subscribers. As part of the new deal, DirecTV will offer packages including Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus, with additional genre-specific options. The agreement comes just in time for college football and the Emmy Awards.

AI Art

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Yesterday’s Poll

“Do you think AI will have more positive or negative impacts?”

Positive! - 69% ✅

Negative. - 31%

Your Views:

“Right now is the future that the forefathers of the human race could only speculate about in fantasy driven worlds through fictional writings. In reality in the here and now though is the existence of artificial intelligence capable of an almost unlimited number of tasks created to assist the educated minds of all ages and only limited by the those that don’t understand the balance of power in a cause and effect universe.” - explorelife

“If you have other backgrounds of people utilizing or working on data then the outcome of AI will be better. Have to have all in not just one group.” - biznesssavvychic

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