WeTransfer says files not used to train AI after backlash
WeTransfer said the clause was initially added to "include the possibility of using AI to improve content moderation" and to identify harmful content.It appears to have been changed in late June or early July, according to snapshots taken on the Internet Archive.The terms had said WeTransfer could use content for purposes "including to improve performance of machine learning models that enhance our content moderation process".It also included the right for WeTransfer to "reproduce, distribute, modify," or "publicly display" files uploaded to the service.Some users on social media interpreted this as WeTransfer giving itself the right to share or sell the files uploaded by users to AI companies.People working in the creative industries, including an illustrator and an actor, posted on X to say they used the service to send work and were considering changing to alternative providers.WeTransfer said it updated the clause on Tuesday, "as we've seen this passage may have caused confusion for our customers."The clause in the terms of service now says: "You hereby grant us a royalty-free license to use your Content for the purposes of operating, developing, and improving the Service, all in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy."The rival file-sharing platform Dropbox also had to clarify it was not using files uploaded to its service to train AI models, after social media outcry in December 2023.
Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Scotland will be at ‘forefront of UK's technological revolution', says Murray
Scotland is in line for billions of pounds of investment, the UK Government said as it announced plans to site an AI Growth Zone north of the border. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the move will help put the country at the 'forefront of the UK's technological revolution'. It was announced as part of the UK Government's Compute Roadmap, which promises £1 billion to expand the country's AI research resource 20-fold over the next five years. It is understood several promising sites for the AI Growth Zone – which ministers hope will speed up the rollout of vital infrastructure like data centres – have already been identified in Scotland. It is hoped researchers and businesses at the centres will be able to process huge amounts of data to deliver the next generation of breakthroughs and innovations – including potentially finding new ways to treat and beat diseases, speeding up how we can diagnose conditions like cancer, and even using AI to help in the fight against climate change. Confirmation of an AI Growth Zone for Scotland comes after the UK Government announced £750 million of funding to build the UK's new national supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh. As part of the Compute Roadmap, ministers have now also confirmed the capital will be home to the UK's first National Supercomputing Centre. This will be a dedicated centre of expertise, with individual sites hosting everything from large data sets to cutting-edge processing power. Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 'From the shipyards of the Clyde to developments in steam engine technology, Scottish trailblazers were central to the industrial revolution. 'AI is this generation's next great industrial leap, so who better to help drive that change than a nation with innovation hardwired in its DNA.'We've set out an ambitious plan to cement our position as a global leader in AI, with Scotland set to play a key role – unlocking fresh investment and new opportunities. That's how we're putting our Plan for Change into action.' Mr Murray said: 'This is a landmark moment and will place Scotland at the forefront of the UK's technological revolution. 'The up to £750 million investment in Edinburgh's new supercomputer also places Scotland at the cutting edge of computing power globally. 'This will see Scotland playing a leading role in creating breakthroughs that have a global benefit – such as new medicines, health advances, and climate change solutions. 'This is the Plan for Change – delivering real opportunities and economic growth for communities across Scotland.' Scottish Government business minister Richard Lochhead said: 'With our world-renowned talent for research, innovation and ingenuity, Scotland is perfectly placed to capitalise on AI's rapid growth and be a supplier of this transformational technology, not just a consumer. 'We are also home to vital supporting and enabling infrastructure – from good-quality digital connectivity to the abundant renewable energy supplies needed to power the huge demand from computer processing in a sustainable way. 'The UK Government's confirmation that an AI Growth Zone and National Supercomputing Centre will be established in Scotland is welcome. 'It will help unlock new opportunities for businesses, researchers, citizens and communities — supporting high-quality jobs through economic growth and boosting productivity.'
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Microsoft wants to use human poop to lower its vast carbon footprint
Microsoft is looking to lower its vast carbon footprint by pumping human waste 5,000 feet below the ground's surface. The tech giant hopes to offset its massive carbon footprint, only exacerbated by its ventures into artificial intelligence, by using an unusual greenhouse gas removal strategy. On Thursday, Microsoft announced a deal to purchase 4.9 million metric tons of durable carbon dioxide removal from Vaulted Deep. The company's 'bioslurry,' or mix of human and farm waste, is injected deep underground – in exchange for carbon credits. Microsoft's purchase will span 12 years, starting next year. For each ton of carbon they shuttle deep underground, they will receive a carbon removal credit. 'We're taking different types of organic waste,' Julia Reichelstein, the co-founder and chief executive of Vaulted Deep, told the Journal. 'It's sludgy, often contaminated organic waste that today causes problems above ground, and instead we take the waste and put it really deep underground for permanent carbon removal,' Reichelstein added. The waste used by Vaulted Deep is typically a slurry, not quite solid, liquid, or gas. Traditionally, this type of waste is difficult to treat and often ends up being left in fields, leading to nutrient runoff and the spread of PFAS, or "forever chemicals," into water systems. Vaulted Deep, however, takes the slurry and pipes it deep under natural rock formations. The company then sells carbon credits based on the amount of carbon it stores below the ground. They currently sell for about $350 a metric ton, according to the report. Companies like Microsoft, which emitted 75.5 million tons of CO2 from 2020 to 2024, hope that storing organic waste thousands of feet underground will help them meet their emission targets. Microsoft has a goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050, hopes to remove more greenhouse gases than the company has emitted since its founding. To date, Microsoft has bought many carbon removal credits. It has acquired more than 83 million tons of carbon removal, of which 59 million tons have been bought so far this year, not including the deal with Vaulted Deep, according to the report. Brian Marrs, the tech giant's senior director of energy and carbon removal, touted the investment in Vaulted Deep as being mutually beneficial. 'They're essentially taking biosolids, and much of that today is spread over fields,' he said. 'It can create nutrient [runoff] and other pollutants for watersheds, and sealing out that biosolid where it can't be a nuisance to the environment and where it will not repatriate carbon into the atmosphere – that approach, that co-benefits approach is very, very interesting to us.'
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK and Germany sign key deal as part of Brexit ‘reset'
Sir Keir Starmer and German leader Friedrich Merz signed the Kensington Treaty, the most significant UK-German co-operation deal since the Second World War. The treaty focuses on enhanced collaboration in migration, trade, and security, marking a notable improvement in Anglo-German relations. Key provisions include Germany closing a loophole to allow police to seize small boats used by migrants, and visa-free travel for German school trips to the UK by year-end. British visitors will gain access to German passport e-gates by the end of August, initially for frequent travellers, as part of Sir Keir's wider Brexit 'reset'. Despite the new agreement, Mr Merz expressed his personal regret over Brexit, while recent polls indicate a majority in Germany and other EU nations would welcome the UK back into the bloc.
