Image: LinkedIn
As an objective journalistic observer of the tech and business world, I’d like to state the inarguable, quantifiable, unavoidable fact that LinkedIn sucks. It sucks really hard. LinkedIn is a terrible fusion of the worst parts of social networks, job boards, and office culture — and it’s about to suck even harder with the help of AI.
Like seemingly every large tech company these days, LinkedIn is injecting generative AI into its platform. (You may have already spotted it on prompts that “help” users write posts or messages.) But the Microsoft-owned website is now scraping its user data to train its artificial intelligence systems. Naturally, you’re opted into sharing your data with LinkedIn’s AI for free, without any kind of message or alert. (Unless you’re in the EU, where this kind of sneaky behavior is illegal.)
In fact, LinkedIn started using your data before updating its often-intentionally-nebulous Privacy Policy, as spotted by 404 Media. The policy has subsequently been updated to include legalese:
“We may use your personal data to improve, develop, and provide products and Services, develop and train artificial intelligence (AI) models, develop, provide, and personalize our Services, and gain insights with the help of AI, automated systems, and inferences, so that our Services can be more relevant and useful to you and others.”
The data that LinkedIn has already collected is part of the training model, and there’s nothing you can do about that, according to The Verge.
However, you can opt out of your data being used for any further AI training in the future. To do this, navigate to your account’s Settings & privacy page, select the Data privacy tab, select the Data for Generative AI Improvement setting, and toggle it to Off. (Or take a shortcut directly to the setting by clicking here.)
Further reading: Facebook settings you should really change
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he’s the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop “battlestation” in his off hours. Michael’s previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he’s covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he’s always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
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