A Safeguard That Didn’t Hold

In January, Microsoft detected an issue inside the “Work” tab of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. The problem, tracked internally as CW1226324, meant Copilot could process emails stored in users’ Sent Items and Drafts folders, even when those messages carried sensitivity labels designed to block AI access.

Inbox folders appear to have remained protected. The weakness sat in a specific retrieval path affecting Drafts and Sent Items.

Microsoft confirmed the bug was first identified on 21 January 2026. A server-side fix began rolling out in early February and is still being monitored across enterprise tenants.

The company said in a statement:

“We identified and addressed an issue where Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat could return content from emails labelled confidential, authored by a user and stored within their Draft and Sent Items in Outlook desktop.”

It added:

“This did not provide anyone access to information they weren’t already authorised to see. While our access controls and data protection policies remained intact, this behaviour did not meet our intended Copilot experience, which is designed to exclude protected content from Copilot access.”

That distinction matters. Microsoft’s position is that no unauthorised user gained access to restricted data. The issue was about Copilot processing information it was supposed to ignore.

How Did This Happen?

Copilot relies on what’s known as a retrieve then generate model. It first pulls relevant content from emails, documents or chats. It then feeds that material into a large language model to produce summaries or answers.

The enforcement point is the retrieval stage. If protected content is fetched at that stage, the AI will use it.

In this case, a code logic error meant sensitivity labels and data loss prevention policies were not correctly enforced for Drafts and Sent Items. Emails marked confidential were picked up and summarised inside Copilot’s Work chat.

That creates obvious concerns. Draft folders often contain unfinalised legal advice, internal assessments or sensitive negotiations. Sent Items frequently hold commercially sensitive exchanges.

Even if summaries stayed within the same user’s workspace, the principle of exclusion had failed.

Why It Happened At An Awkward Moment

Microsoft has been aggressively positioning Microsoft 365 Copilot as a secure enterprise AI assistant. Businesses pay a premium licence fee on top of their Microsoft 365 subscriptions. The selling point is productivity without compromising governance.

This incident seems to undermine that message.

It also comes amid heightened scrutiny of AI tools in regulated environments. The European Parliament recently banned AI tools on some worker devices over cloud data concerns. Regulators are watching closely.

Industry analysts have long warned that the rapid rollout of enterprise AI features increases the likelihood of control gaps and configuration errors. As vendors compete to embed generative AI deeper into core productivity tools, governance frameworks are often forced to catch up. This incident reinforces a wider concern that AI functionality can move faster than internal compliance oversight.

Security researchers have previously highlighted vulnerabilities in retrieval augmented generation systems, including those used by Copilot. The lesson is consistent. If policy enforcement fails at retrieval, downstream safeguards cannot fully compensate.

What This Means For Microsoft And Its Rivals

Copilot sits at the centre of Microsoft’s enterprise AI strategy, so any weakness in its data controls lands hard. Businesses are being asked to trust an assistant that can read across emails, documents and internal chats. That trust is commercial currency.

In Microsoft’s defence, it must be said that the company moved quickly to contain the issue. The fix was applied server-side, so customers did not need to install patches, and the company says it is contacting affected tenants while monitoring the rollout. From a technical response standpoint, the reaction has been swift.

Microsoft has yet to publish tenant-level figures or detailed forensic logs showing exactly which confidential items were processed during the exposure window. For organisations with regulatory obligations, reassurance alone will not be enough. They will want clear evidence of what was accessed, when and under what controls.

Rivals will also be paying attention. Google Workspace with Gemini, Salesforce’s AI integrations and other embedded assistants rely on similar retrieval architectures. The risk exposed here is not unique to one vendor. It reflects a broader design challenge facing every platform embedding generative AI into live corporate data environments.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

If your organisation is using Microsoft 365 Copilot, this is a governance story, not a crisis story.

Microsoft insists no unauthorised access took place and there is no evidence of data being exposed outside permitted user boundaries. That matters. Yet the episode highlights something more structural. AI controls can fail quietly inside systems businesses assume are ring-fenced.

Copilot is not a standalone chatbot. It operates across your email, documents and collaboration tools. It reads broadly. It summarises intelligently. It relies on retrieval rules working exactly as designed. When those rules misfire, even briefly, sensitive material can be processed in ways you did not intend.

That is why access decisions matter. Embedding AI into legal, HR, finance or executive workflows is not simply a productivity choice. Draft emails often contain unfiltered strategy, regulatory advice or negotiation positions. Those are precisely the communications organisations most want tightly controlled.

This is also a moment to test assumptions. Sensitivity labels and data loss prevention policies are only effective if they behave as expected under real conditions. Enabling new AI features should trigger validation, not blind trust.

Copilot can deliver genuine efficiency gains. Faster document drafting, quicker retrieval of buried information and less manual searching all translate into time saved. The value is real. Yet tools with that level of visibility into your data estate deserve the same scrutiny you would apply to any system handling commercially sensitive information.

Businesses that combine productivity ambition with disciplined oversight will benefit. Those that treat embedded AI as frictionless and risk-free may find the learning curve steeper than expected.

The post Featured Article : Microsoft Copilot Bug Exposes Confidential Emails To AI Tool appeared first on Mear Technology.

Why the increase?

Microsoft are introducing 1,100 new features coming in 2026, one of these “new capabilities” is Copilot almost everywhere. Microsoft has now embedded Copilot across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.

• Word and PowerPoint: Generate drafts, summarise documents and create presentations all with AI assistance in minutes.
  
• Excel: Get help with Formulas, create charts, and analyse data all with ease.
  
• Outlook: Draft emails, summarise long threads, manage your inbox. Need help softening your language or changing the tone of it. Copilot has you covered.
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic (Moving from 50GB to 100GB)
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard (Moving from 50GB to 100GB)
  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium (Moving from 50GB to 100GB)
    
• Teams: Copilot can transcribe meetings and convert them into actionable items and summaries instantly.
  
• SharePoint: Microsoft has not announced any increases in Storage for SharePoint (Tenant Base 1TB + 10GB per licensed user). What they have added is:
  
  URL Protection (Safe Links Lite): Plans like Business Basic and Business Standard will now include basic URL checking when users click links within Office files stored in SharePoint.

If you currently pay for “Exchange Online Plan 2” add-ons just to get 100GB mailboxes for certain users, you will likely be able to cancel those add-ons once this change takes effect, saving you money.

Source Microsoft https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/12/04/advancing-microsoft-365-new-capabilities-and-pricing-update/

Updated pricing

So far, Microsoft has only released the USD prices and no UK-specific pricing. The Following list price changes will go into effect on 1^st July 2026.

Source Microsoft https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/12/04/advancing-microsoft-365-new-capabilities-and-pricing-update/

UK pricing: UK customers should expect the same percentage increases. Microsoft has a “pricing hamonisation” policy. This policy means Microsoft reviews foreign exchange rates twice a year (Typically February and August/September) to reaglin with the USD.

Even if the GBP remains strong we will still see the prices increase. If the pound weakens Mid 2026 we could see a further rise in September. If the pound strengths we could see the price drop.

Charity and Not for Profit

On 1st of July 2025 started retiring the 10 Free Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses. Existing customers retained their licenses until their next renewal dates.

Microsft have shifting it’s “free” focus towards cloud-only solutions.

• The New “Free” Offer: Up to 300 free licenses of Microsoft 365 Business Basic. This includes web and mobile versions of apps (Word, Excel) and Teams, but it does not include the desktop-installed apps or the advanced security/device management (Intune) found in Business Premium.
  
• Discounted Premium: You can still get Business Premium, but it will no longer be free. Eligible charities will receive a 75% discount, making the cost roughly $5.50 (or ~£4.20) per user per month.

So, if you are a charity and keeping costs as low as possible you no longer enjoy free office licences but can get cheap, or you can remove the desktop versions of Office and work purely in the browser using the web version of Word, Excel, Outlook and teams.

What should our customers do?

• Contact the helpdesk and ask for a licence report, and remove any staff who are not needed. Identify unused and redundant licences.
• If you have any Exchange plan 2 used as a bolt-on to increase your mailbox size, then ask for these to be removed in July.
• Consider Annual pricing, buying your licenses upfront for the year will lock you in to pre-July pricing for 12 months. It will reduce your flexibility to reduce your licence counts and change your cash flow.

The post Microsoft 365 enhancements and global price increases appeared first on Mear Technology.

Planner 

This app is a task management tool that helps teams create detailed plans, assign tasks, and track progress using visual boards and charts. Planner integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 apps like Teams and Outlook, allowing for efficient task management and collaboration across different platforms. 

Whiteboard 

Whiteboard is a digital canvas that allows teams to brainstorm, plan, and create together in real-time, no matter where they are located. Whiteboard supports collaboration with tools for drawing, note-taking, and diagramming, enhancing team creativity and productivity 

Bookings 

This is a great scheduling tool that simplifies managing appointments with customers and clients. Bookings provides a web-based booking calendar that integrates with Outlook to automatically send confirmations and reminders, helping to reduce no-shows and ensuring smooth appointment scheduling. It’s Microsoft’s answer to the popular ‘Calendly’ software.

Microsoft Loop 

This co-creation tool brings together components like tasks, notes, and data from various Microsoft 365 apps into collaborative workspaces. Loop helps teams stay organised and work together efficiently by consolidating all the necessary elements of a project in one place. 

Power Automate 

If you’re looking for an automation tool that helps save time on repetitive tasks like data entry, email notifications, and file management, Power Automate could be for you. It essentially connects your apps and services to create automated workflows. Power Automate supports a wide range of triggers and actions, making it highly customisable for various business needs. 

Power Apps 

If you need to build custom apps but have a minimal knowledge of coding, Power Apps may be just what you need. Power Apps enables you to create apps that can interact with data stored in various Microsoft 365 apps like SharePoint, Dynamics 365, and SQL Server, thereby providing a flexible and scalable solution for unique business processes. 

Microsoft Viva 

Viva could broadly be described as an ‘employee experience platform’ that brings together communications, knowledge, learning, resources, and insights to support your workforce. Viva aims to improve employee engagement and well-being by integrating with existing Microsoft 365 apps and services. 

SharePoint 

Although you may have heard the name SharePoint, if you haven’t tried it, you may not realise how versatile and helpful SharePoint can be. This is a platform for creating websites, sharing documents, and collaborating across teams and departments. SharePoint allows for the creation of custom intranet sites and document libraries, which can help streamline information sharing and document management within an organisation. Using SharePoint can therefore help enhance efficiency, reduce duplication of effort, plus ensure that all team members have access to the most up-to-date information, thereby improving overall productivity and decision-making. 

Microsoft Forms 

A tool for creating surveys, quizzes, and polls, Forms collects real-time responses and provides analytics to help you make data-driven decisions, making it easy to gather feedback, conduct research, or assess employee or customer satisfaction. 

Yammer 

Although now quite an old app (introduced in 2008 and acquired by Microsoft in June 2012), Yammer still reportedly has tens of millions of monthly active users worldwide. This enterprise social networking service facilitates communication and collaboration within your organisation. Yammer enables employees to create groups, share updates, and engage in discussions, fostering a more connected and informed workplace. 

Sway 

This digital storytelling app enables you to create interactive reports, presentations, and newsletters. One big advantage of Sway is that it offers easy-to-use templates and design tools that help users create visually appealing content without the need for advanced design skills, making it ideal for sharing information in an engaging way. 

Stream 

Introduced to Microsoft 365 back in 2017, Stream is a video service for businesses to securely upload, share, and manage videos. Stream integrates with other Microsoft 365 apps, enabling features like automatic transcription, video search, and embedding videos in Teams and SharePoint, thereby enhancing the way teams can use video for communication and training. 

To Do 

As the name suggests, this task-management app allows you to plan your day and keep track of your to-do lists. To Do integrates with Outlook tasks, thereby enabling you to manage all your tasks in one place (which is very convenient) and set reminders and due dates to stay on top of their responsibilities. 

Clarity 

This is a web analytics app that provides insights into user behaviour on your website. For example, Clarity offers heatmaps, session recordings, and other analytical tools to help improve user experience and engagement, thereby making data-driven decisions easier and more effective. 

Microsoft Lists 

If you need to track information and stay on top of organising work, Lists does just that. Lists helps you to create, share, and track lists with anyone, using templates to get started quickly and customising views and formats to fit the team’s specific needs. It also integrates with Teams for seamless collaboration. 

Clipchamp 

This video editing tool enables you to create and edit professional-looking videos with relative ease. Clipchamp offers a range of templates, effects, and editing tools that make video production accessible even to those without extensive video editing experience. 

Intune 

Intune is a cloud-based service focusing on mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM). This app can help secure your organisation’s data by managing how devices access and share information, ensuring compliance with security policies. 

Microsoft Entra ID 

If you need to protect sensitive information and ensure that only authorised users can access critical data and systems, then Microsoft Entra ID identity and access management service can help. Microsoft Entra ID enhances security by managing user identities and access to resources across your enterprise.  

How Do You Find and Access Microsoft 365 Apps? 

Accessing the wide variety of apps available in Microsoft 365 is designed to be simple and convenient. The Microsoft 365 app launcher, a grid icon in the top-left corner of the Microsoft365.com page, is your primary gateway. Clicking this icon reveals a menu of all your available apps. If you don’t see the one you need, clicking “All apps” provides a comprehensive list. The launcher also tracks your most recently used apps for quick access. 

Many Microsoft 365 apps can also be installed directly on your desktop or mobile devices, ensuring you can use them offline. For desktop applications, visit the Microsoft 365 downloads page to download apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Mobile users can find these apps in the App Store or Google Play Store, making it easy to access tools like Microsoft Outlook and OneDrive on the go. 

Microsoft Teams integrates several Microsoft 365 apps within its interface, enhancing collaboration. By signing into Teams, you can browse and install apps like Planner and Lists from the “Apps” section, allowing seamless use within your team channels and chats. 

Also, most Microsoft 365 apps have web versions accessible from any browser, eliminating the need for downloads. Simply go to Microsoft365.com and select the app you need from the homepage or app launcher. These web apps offer functionalities similar to their desktop counterparts, ensuring a smooth experience across devices. 

For added efficiency, bookmark the Microsoft 365 login page and frequently used app URLs. Pinning your most-used apps in the launcher also ensures easy access. This way you can maximise productivity with the comprehensive suite of Microsoft 365 apps, whether in the office, at home, or on the go. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The extensive array of apps offered by Microsoft 365 provides many advantages for businesses and individuals. By integrating these apps into daily operations, businesses can significantly enhance their efficiency, productivity, and overall workflow. Applications like Planner and To Do streamline task management and ensure that teams stay on track, while Power Automate eliminates repetitive tasks through automation, allowing employees to focus on more strategic activities. 

For businesses, the use of tools such as SharePoint and Microsoft Viva can improve collaboration and information sharing across departments, fostering a more connected and informed workplace. SharePoint’s custom intranet sites and document libraries make it easier to manage and disseminate information, while Viva supports employee engagement and well-being by integrating communications, knowledge, and learning resources. 

From a competitive standpoint, Microsoft’s comprehensive suite of productivity apps positions it strongly against competitors and have helped make it the most popular suite of applications for business, boasting some 345 million users worldwide. The seamless integration of these apps within the Microsoft ecosystem provides a unified experience that can be difficult for competitors to match. This integration is further enhanced by Microsoft Teams, which acts as a central hub for communication and collaboration, incorporating apps like Planner, Lists, and Whiteboard directly into its interface. 

Since the arrival of AI and its widescale incorporation into many Microsoft 365 apps, this has provided many extra benefits for businesses. AI-driven features in apps like Microsoft Loop and Clarity, for example, provide deeper insights and facilitate smarter decision-making. Clarity’s analytical tools are able to offer potentially valuable insights into user behaviour, allowing businesses to optimise their websites and improve user engagement. AI in Power Automate and other apps also helps create more sophisticated workflows that adapt to the needs of the business, further boosting productivity. 

Looking ahead, the integration of AI will continue to evolve, providing even more powerful tools to enhance business operations. Microsoft’s ongoing investment in AI technologies, thanks to very close relationship with OpenAI, should mean that its apps will remain at the forefront of innovation, thereby helping businesses to stay competitive and efficient in a rapidly changing digital landscape. 

The post Essentials Explained : What Can Microsoft 365 Do? appeared first on Mear Technology.

The Worst Cyber Event In History 

The scale of effects of the disruption caused make this event, which began on 18 July (Microsoft) or 19 July (according to CrowdStrike), makes it the worst cyber event in history, beating the WannaCry cyber-attack in 2017 where 300,000 computers in 150 countries were affected. 

Who Are CrowdStrike? 

Texas-based cybersecurity technology company, CrowdStrike, formed in 2011, provides an AI and machine learning powered, cloud-based enterprise endpoint protection platform (intelligent real-time antivirus) called Falcon which is used by a wide range of businesses and organisations.  

What Caused The Problems? 

As part of the Falcon protection mechanisms, it receives regular software updates. However, the recent update which caused the outage was described as a “sensor configuration update to Windows systems”. In this case, the faulty sensor software update triggered a logic error which resulted in a system crash and blue screen (the ‘Blue Screen Of Death’ – BSOD) on impacted systems, i.e. the computer system for the companies that were running Microsoft operating systems and using CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform (those running Falcon sensor for Windows version 7.11 and above) were completely disabled. 

The ‘sensor’ is a software agent installed on endpoint devices (such as Windows systems). 

Only Windows Affected 

The faulty software update only impacted Microsoft because the Falcon sensor update was specifically designed specifically just for the Windows operating system and the logic error that triggered the system crashes and blue screens (BSOD) was tied to a component or function that is unique to Windows environments. 

Enormous Impact 

The faulty CrowdStrike software update caused major disruptions across a wide variety of industries globally, which included: 

Airlines 

Airlines experienced severe operational disruptions, thousands of cancelled /grounded flights and causing delays and passenger queues at major airports, such as the UK’s Stanstead and Gatwick airports and Berlin’s BER and Newark International airports. Passengers faced long waits while the airlines struggled to manage schedules and customer service due to the system failures. Customers (many of whom only learned of the cancellation of their flight when they arrived at the airport) suffered delays, as well as the stress, disruption, and expense of having to find later alternative flights and alternative routes, and/or book hotels overnight, and pay more for overdue car parking back at home. 

Healthcare 

Hospitals and healthcare systems were notably impacted, with some facilities facing delays in clinical procedures and disruptions in medical technology and communications. This situation forced many hospitals to implement manual restoration of systems and downtime procedures, which affected patient care and led to cancellations of some clinical services. Even pharmacies have been affected with customers unable to get their prescriptions. 

Financial Services 

Many banks and financial institutions encountered issues processing transactions, leading to service interruptions. The outage affected ATMs and online banking services, causing inconvenience to customers and operational delays. 

Media and Broadcasting 

Broadcasters such as Sky News experienced temporary outages, affecting their ability to deliver news and updates to the public, thereby highlighting the apparent reliance of media companies on cybersecurity and IT infrastructure to maintain continuous service. 

Emergency Services 

Emergency call centres also faced operational challenges, which impacted their ability to respond promptly to emergencies, leading to increased risk and delays in emergency response times, raising significant public safety concerns. 

Retail 

Retailers also had difficulties, particularly in their point-of-sale systems and online platforms. This disruption led to transaction delays and affected inventory management, impacting both in-store and online sales. 

Fix Issued 

CrowdStrike says it has issued a fix although this in itself may be time-consuming and disruptive because it involves having to apply the fix to each affected device separately and the need for a manual reboot in safe mode for affected computers, thereby creating considerable work and issues for IT departments everywhere. 

Ongoing 

At the time of writing this, the many effects are ongoing, and are expected to last around one week. 

Not A Cyber Attack, But Cyber Attack Risk Now Increased 

Although CrowdStrike Founder and CEO, George Kurtz, stressed in a statement that the outage was “not a cyberattack”, there are warnings that scams and cyberattacks should now be expected, e.g. cyber attackers setting up phishing websites and running scams under the guise of offering help / fixes for those affected. Secureworks, for example, has reported a spike in CrowdStrike-themed domain registrations (a sign of potential phishing websites being set up), and there have been reports of emails being circulated by scammers claiming to be ‘CrowdStrike Support’ or ‘CrowdStrike Security’. The advice, therefore, is for those affected to only use CrowdStrike’s website to source information and help. 

Although not directly related, on the theme of online security and issues relating to antivirus software, Russian security company Kaspersky has just announced that it will be exiting the US market and consequently will be cutting staff ahead of a government-imposed sales ban. Kaspersky reports: “Starting from July 20, 2024, Kaspersky will gradually wind down its US operations and eliminate US-based positions” and that “The decision and process follows the Final Determination by the US Department of Commerce, prohibiting the sales and distribution of Kaspersky products in the US”. 

Sorry! 

Following the CrowdStrike issue, the company’s CEO, George Kurtz, has issued an apology, saying: “I want to sincerely apologise directly to all of you for the outage. All of CrowdStrike understands the gravity and impact of the situation. We quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix, allowing us to focus diligently on restoring customer systems as our highest priority”. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The catastrophic event involving CrowdStrike’s faulty software update serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities that can arise from our reliance on advanced cybersecurity solutions. For businesses, this incident is a reminder of the critical importance of rigorous testing and validation processes for all software updates. It also highlights the need for robust contingency plans to ensure operational continuity in the face of unexpected system failures. 

The extensive disruption across various industries, from airlines to healthcare, illustrates the interconnected nature of modern business operations and the potential widespread impact of a single point of failure. Companies must therefore try to prioritise not only their own cybersecurity measures but also closely scrutinise and manage the cybersecurity protocols of their service providers and partners. 

The legal and financial ramifications of such events also can’t be ignored. The anticipated lawsuits and claims for damages resulting from operational disruptions and customer inconvenience could set significant precedents, influencing future legal standards and liability expectations in the cybersecurity sector. This legal landscape will likely demand that businesses enhance their insurance coverage and legal strategies to mitigate potential risks. 

Also, the warning from CrowdStrike about the increased risk of cyber-attacks in the wake of this incident should prompt businesses to heighten their vigilance against phishing and other cyber threats. The surge in CrowdStrike-themed phishing websites shows the cruel and opportunistic nature of cybercriminals, and businesses should now ensure their employees are well-informed and equipped to recognise and respond to these threats. 

While the disruption caused by CrowdStrike’s software update was not a cyber-attack, it has nonetheless amplified the need for businesses to adopt comprehensive cybersecurity strategies. This could include, for example, maintaining up-to-date security protocols, preparing for swift crisis management, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement in cybersecurity practices. Businesses that learn from this incident and proactively strengthen their cybersecurity frameworks will be better positioned to navigate the complexities of the digital age and safeguard their operations against future disruptions.

The post Featured Article : CrowdStrike : What Happened? appeared first on Mear Technology.

What Is Recall? 

The Recall feature for Windows (currently in preview status) is a new feature that’s exclusive to Microsoft’s forthcoming Copilot+ PCs. Recall takes snapshots of whatever is on your screen every five seconds (e.g. emails, and photos), while content on the screen is different from the previous snapshot. These snapshots are then stored (encrypted) and analysed using optical character recognition (OCR), which uses AI, locally on the user’s PC. The collection of snapshots is designed to give users not only a timeline of everything they’ve done and seen, but they can use voice commands to search through it for what they need, e.g. for any content (text and images) they may have been working on or seen. Microsoft says the functionality will be improved “over time” to enable users to open the actual source document, website, or email in a screenshot. 

When Recall opens the snapshot a user has requested, it enables ‘screenray’.  This runs at the top of the snapshot and allows the user to interact with any of the elements in the snapshot, so for instance, the user can copy text from the snapshot or send pictures from the snapshot (to an app that supports jpeg files). 

Won’t It Just Fill Up The PC’s Storage Space With Snapshots? 

With different screen snapshots (captured every-five-seconds having to be stored locally on the PC) you may be wondering what this will do to the storage space. Microsoft says the minimum hard drive space needed to run Recall is 256 GB (whereby 50 GB of space must be available) and that the default allocation for Recall on a device with 256 GB will be 25 GB, which can store approximately 3 months of snapshots. Users can increase the storage allocation for Recall in the PC Settings and old snapshots are deleted when the allocated storage is used, allowing new ones to be stored. 

Why Use Recall? 

According to Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer, with Recall, Microsoft “set out to solve one of the most frustrating problems we encounter daily — finding something we know we have seen before on our PC”. 

Broadly speaking therefore, Recall is essentially a productivity and user experience-enhancing feature. Microsoft hopes that Recall will transform how users interact with their digital content by providing powerful, AI-driven tools for retrieving and managing past activities while maintaining a high level of control and (hopefully) privacy too.

Privacy Concerns 

While on the face of it, it’s possible to see how useful this feature could be, Recall has set privacy alarm bells ringing for some users. For example, it’s been reported that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is contacting Microsoft for more information on the safety of the product and that Recall has been described as a “privacy nightmare” by some privacy watchdogs. Examples of some of the key concerns about the potential privacy issues of Recall include: 

– Since the feature doesn’t moderate what it records, very sensitive information including snapshots of passwords, financial account numbers, medical or legal information (and more) could be accessed and taken, presenting an obvious risk. Microsoft says: “Recall does not perform content moderation. It will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers. That data may be in snapshots that are stored on your device, especially when sites do not follow standard internet protocols like cloaking password entry.” 

– With gaining initial access to a device being one of the easier elements of an attack, this is all that would be needed to potentially access the screenshots and steal sensitive information or business trade secrets. 

– Anyone who knows a user’s password could access that user’s history in more detail. 

– Recall is currently at the preview stage, but unless Microsoft assesses the data protection, and peoples’ rights and freedoms before the feature is released to the wider market, there may be some serious legal issues and consequences. 

Elon Musk also posted about the feature on his X platform saying: “This is a Black Mirror episode. Definitely turning this ‘feature‘ off.” 

What Does Microsoft Say? 

In defence of Recall and to allay the privacy concerns expressed, Microsoft points out that: 

– Recall is not enabled by default – it is an opt-in feature. Users must manually activate it to use it and can configure its settings to control what data it captures and stores. 

– Microsoft says it built privacy into Recall’s design “from the ground up”. 

– By clicking on the Recall taskbar icon after user’s first activate their Copilot+ device, they can choose what snapshots Recall collects and stores on their device. For example, users can select specific apps or websites visited in a supported browser to filter out of snapshots, snapshots on demand from the Recall icon in the system tray, clear some or all snapshots that have been stored, or delete all the snapshots from the device. 

– Microsoft says: “For enterprise customers, IT administrators can disable automatically saving snapshots using group policy or mobile device management policy. If a policy is used to disable saving snapshots, all saved snapshots from users’ devices will be deleted, and device users can’t enable saving snapshots.” 

– The snapshots captured by Microsoft’s Recall feature are stored locally on the PC but are encrypted and protected using BitLocker encryption. 

– Recall data is only stored locally and isn’t accessed by Microsoft or anyone who does not have device access. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

It’s possible to see the value of the Recall feature (in the forthcoming Copilot+ PCs) in terms of offering UK businesses a potential boost in productivity and efficiency. Being able to search by voice and quickly find (and eventually click through to) anything you’ve been looking at could make it much faster and easier to retrieve and manage digital content. This could, of course, save valuable time and reduce frustration, leading to more streamlined workflows and increased operational efficiency. 

However, the elephant in the room with this feature which has piqued the attention of many commentators and the ICO is the significant risk to privacy that it could seemingly pose to businesses and individual users. For example, the unmoderated collection of everything (which could include sensitive information such as passwords, financial data, and confidential business details), raises substantial security and privacy risks. For example, if these snapshots were to be accessed and fall into the wrong hands, the consequences could be severe, including data breaches and the exposure of proprietary information. It appears, therefore, that the only thing standing between a potential bad actor and your personal/sensitive/business information is knowledge of the password for the PC. 

Microsoft’s assertion that Recall is an opt-in feature, with snapshots stored locally and protected by BitLocker encryption, may, however, provide some reassurance, as may the fact that users can control what data is captured and stored, plus enterprise customers can disable automatic snapshot saving through group policy or mobile device management. Nevertheless, despite these measures, the potential for misuse remains, especially if a device is compromised or accessed by an unauthorised individual. 

To address these privacy concerns, Microsoft will need to provide comprehensive transparency and robust security assurances to the ICO, businesses, and privacy advocates too. Demonstrating that Recall complies with data protection regulations and adequately safeguards user data will be crucial. Clearly, even though Recall is still just at the preview stage, there are serious concerns, and failure to address these could result in significant backlash, legal challenges, and a loss of trust among users. 

If / when Recall is thought to be suitable for wider release for businesses, the decision to implement it will require a careful evaluation of the trade-offs between increased productivity and potential privacy risks. Companies will need to establish clear policies and provide training to ensure that employees understand how to use the feature securely. IT departments will also need to remain vigilant, continually monitoring and managing the feature’s settings to maintain data protection standards. 

While Recall offers exciting possibilities for enhancing business efficiency, its success will depend on Microsoft’s ability to address privacy concerns and provide robust security measures, so it remains to be seen how Recall progresses though this preview stage and whether risks can be mitigated to an acceptable level.

The post Featured Article : New Windows Screenshot Feature Sparks Privacy Concerns appeared first on Mear Technology.

Why? 

It’s been reported that Microsoft has asked hundreds of its China-based employees, particularly those involved in cloud computing and AI, to consider relocating to other countries. It’s thought that this decision was prompted by escalating tensions between the United States and China, e.g. over technological advancements and trade issues, such as AI and semiconductors. Differing reports put the number that have been given the option to relocate between approximately 100 and 800 employees (mainly Chinese nationals). It’s also been reported that the employees only have less than one month to decide. 

However, Microsoft appears keen to emphasise that offering internal transfer opportunities to employees is part of its standard global business management practice and is a regular part of managing its global operations. 

Why Is This Move Potentially Significant? 

Bearing in mind the backdrop of increasing tensions between the United States and China, the relocation offers and the relatively short decision-making window for those affected could be seen by some as an indication that the company is planning to reduce its dependency on China. In doing so, it may be a way for Microsoft to mitigate the risks associated with geopolitical instability and trade conflicts, thereby helping it to maintain smooth operations and protect itself from any risks to its intellectual property, e.g. from potential regulatory challenges in China. Microsoft has reportedly said, however, that it remains committed to its presence in China 

Where? 

Reports indicate that Microsoft has suggested the United States, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand as countries the employees have the option to re-locate to. 

New Tariffs Announced 

The trade conflicts and tech war between the US and China that may be behind Microsoft’s employee relocation ideas don’t look like lessening any time soon. For example, the Biden administration has just imposed tariffs on around $18 billion worth of Chinese imports, including electric vehicles (EVs) and various other products in a measure to shield US industries from being undercut by cheaper Chinese imports, which are often subsidised by the Chinese government. 

Also, last October, the Biden administration restricted the sale of certain semiconductors to China to limit China’s access to advanced technology critical for both commercial and military applications, thereby maintaining the US’s technological superiority and addressing national security concerns. 

These and other trade restrictions could all be viewed as part of the ongoing tech war between the US and China, characterised by escalating competition in high-tech sectors like AI, 5G, and semiconductor manufacturing with the US becoming increasingly wary of China’s rapid technological advancements and their implications for global power dynamics. 

Cyber Attack Protection For UK Politicians 

Meanwhile, 2024 is a major global election year for at least 64 countries including the US, UK, India, and South Africa. Here in the UK, this being the general election year, together with the threat of how AI (deepfakes) and email-based threats could be abused by adversaries, The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC – part of the GCHQ) has announced that it’s to provide “Personal Internet Protection” to politicians and high-profile individuals at risk from attack. The Chinese State (the Chinese Communist Party) is very likely to be one of the key states that the UK’s NCSC is offering protection from, especially since back in March, a Chinese state hacking group targeted the email accounts of over 40 UK parliamentarians that had spoken out against China or were members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). 

The type of protection to be offered as part of (opt-in) “Personal Internet Protection” will be alerting people if any malicious activity is detected on their email accounts or devices. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The decision by Microsoft to ask hundreds of its China-based employees, especially those in cloud computing and AI, to consider relocating to other countries is a notable development amidst rising US-China tensions. This move highlights the ongoing challenges multinational companies face in managing geopolitical risks. While Microsoft may frame these relocations as part of standard global business management, the context suggests a strategic shift aimed at reducing dependency on China and mitigating risks related to intellectual property and regulatory hurdles. 

For UK businesses, the escalating trade and tech war between the US and China could have significant repercussions. Actions like the imposition of a new raft of tariffs on Chinese imports, restrictions on semiconductor sales to China, plus an economic decoupling between the US and China, are reshaping global supply chains and impacting multinational companies. For UK businesses, this decoupling could mean disruptions in supply chains and increased costs if they rely on components or products from China or the US. Also, as the tech war intensifies, UK companies may need to navigate a more fragmented global market, with different standards and regulations across regions. 

The strategic shifts by companies like Microsoft, combined with the broader geopolitical landscape, underscore the need for UK businesses to diversify their supply chains and remain agile. Understanding and preparing for potential regulatory changes and trade barriers will be crucial. Additionally, businesses should monitor developments closely and consider the implications of these geopolitical tensions on their operations and strategic planning. 

Broadly speaking, the US-China tech war and associated economic decoupling (of which Microsoft’s latest move may be a symptom) present both challenges and opportunities for UK businesses. By staying informed and proactive, UK businesses can better navigate this complex environment, ensuring resilience and competitiveness in an increasingly divided global economy. 

As for UK politics, it remains to be seen how effective “Personal Internet Protection” will be against determined state-sponsored hackers with huge resources at their disposal, especially if it’s simply an opt-in protection scheme. 

The post Featured Article : Microsoft Asks Hundreds Of Employees In China To Re-Locate appeared first on Mear Technology.

Accenture? 

Accenture is a US multinational professional services company (IT services, cloud, data, AI, and consulting) headquartered in Dublin, that helps leading businesses, governments and other organisations build their digital core. Accenture says it has 742,000 “people serving clients” in more than 120 countries.   

Why? 

Accenture says their involvement with Microsoft, as part of their joint venture called Avanade (established back in 2000), will be working closely with Currys to “modernise, secure and simplify its technology estate” with the intention “enabling Currys to accelerate the adoption of Microsoft AI technologies such as Azure OpenAI Service”. 

What Will It Do For Currys? 

Currys says that using Microsoft’s AI technologies will enable it to “unlock value across every part of the business” bringing benefits like: 

– Making it easier for customers to shop due to personalised and relevant product information and suggestions tailored to the consumer’s needs at the correct the moment. 

– Improved customer retention and loyalty through the provision of improved post-sales experience and warranty services. 

– A better experience for staff because they will be equipped with faster and easier access to information including product availability, delivery costs, and add-on services so they can better serve customers and identify potential cross and upselling opportunities. 

– Future growth and profitability through the integration of AI into marketing, HR, finance, and legal processes. Currys anticipates that this will increase productivity across core business functions and that AI could be used to create/reveal opportunities to improve omnichannel experiences. 

Net Zero?

It’s also hoped that this transition to embracing AI will help accelerate Currys’ journey to meet its net zero emissions before the 2040 target by moving nine existing data centres (including more than 2000 servers and 200 applications) onto Azure, to create a more energy efficient infrastructure. 

Technological Leap 

Alex Baldock, Group CEO of Currys plc said: “AI is the biggest technological leap of our lifetime. Currys exists to help everyone enjoy amazing technology, so as well as bringing the benefits of AI to millions of customers, we’ll do the same to our own business.” 

Ralph Haupter, President (EMEA) at Microsoft said of its new deal with Currys: “By deploying the latest cloud and AI technologies, Currys can enhance the shopping experience for millions of customers, both in-store and online, whilst ensuring its 25,000 employees have the insights at their fingertips to unlock value across the entire business.” 

Competition

What Currys hasn’t mentioned in its announcement about its deal with Microsoft and Accenture is that it will enable Currys to compete with other major retailers who are already leveraging AI technologies from Microsoft and Accenture. These include, for example, John Lewis Partnership, Argos (part of Sainsbury’s), Tesco, Amazon, and AO World.  

Currys has faced mixed financial performance in recent years due to challenges like increased competition, supply chain disruptions, and changing consumer behaviour. Also, Currys has seen a decline in physical store sales but has tried to offset this with growth in its online sales. Efforts to streamline operations and cut costs have been part of their strategy to adapt to market conditions and improve financial stability, and the deal with Microsoft and Accenture could, therefore, be seen as part of this strategy. 

Open AI Announces “Omni” Model 

Just four days after the Currys/Microsoft/ Accenture announcement, OpenAI (which is a close partner of Microsoft) made another significant AI announcement with the release of its next-generation GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”) model – now available in ChatGPT. Open AI says it is: “a step towards much more natural human-computer interaction” and that it “accepts as input any combination of text, audio, and image and generates any combination of text, audio, and image outputs.” 

OpenAI has also been keen to stress how fast it is (compared to 3.5 and 4.0) saying: “It can respond to audio inputs in as little as 232 milliseconds, with an average of 320 milliseconds, which is similar to human response time in a conversation.” 

Omni’s key USPs include advanced contextual understanding, superior problem-solving skills, a broader knowledge base, and (apparently) robust ethical safeguards. 

Here’s a brief summary of the key features of GPT-4o: 

– Multimodal capabilities. GPT-4o can process and generate text, images, audio, and video, enabling diverse applications like image descriptions, video summaries, and interactive media experiences. 

– Improved contextual understanding. It can maintain coherence over long conversations, making it highly effective for virtual assistants and other roles requiring extended interactions. 

– Advanced problem-solving skills. OpenAI says GPT-4o offers enhanced reasoning, logic, and problem-solving abilities, suitable for tackling complex mathematical problems, data analysis, and scientific research. 

– Real-time adaptability. Omni can adjust responses dynamically based on user feedback and changing contexts, improving personalisation and accuracy. 

– A broader knowledge base, because it’s been trained on a larger, more diverse dataset, thereby enabling it to offer accurate and informed responses across a wide range of topics. 

– Ethical and safe AI practices (according to Accenture) which incorporate advanced safety mechanisms to detect and mitigate harmful content, bias, and misinformation. 

– Enhanced integration capabilities for easy embedding into various applications, such as chatbots, customer service platforms, and content creation tools. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Currys’ collaboration with Microsoft and Accenture to integrate AI technologies into its operations is a strategic move aimed at transforming its business model and enhancing its competitive edge. By leveraging advanced AI solutions, Currys hopes to streamline its technology infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, unlock value, improve productivity, and deliver personalised customer experiences. Currys no doubt hopes that AI could help it turn around some of the performance of recent years and improve how its online business operates as it moves away from physical stores. 

For Currys, the benefits are, therefore, many. For example, the more tailored and personalised shopping experiences that AI can bring could enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Also, improved post-sales services, facilitated by AI, could further boost customer retention. Additionally, equipping staff with AI-powered could help drive sales growth. Not forgetting the core functions, integrating AI into HR, finance, and legal processes could increase productivity for Currys and reveal new growth opportunities, particularly in enhancing omnichannel experiences. 

It could also be noted that transitioning to a more energy-efficient infrastructure powered by Microsoft’s Azure could help Currys in its net zero emissions by 2040 ambitions, helping the company to present a greener image. 

This story also shows how (in the broader business landscape) AI is proving to be a significant advantage across various sectors. Companies using AI are being seen to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and make data-driven decisions more effectively. The ability of AI to process vast amounts of data and generate actionable insights is transforming industries from retail and finance to healthcare and logistics, providing a competitive edge to those who adopt it. 

The recent launch of OpenAI’s GPT-4o also underscores the rapid advancements in AI technology. With its multimodal capabilities, GPT-4o looks like being a versatile tool for diverse applications. Also, for many ChatGPT users, news that it’s extremely fast will be welcome, and its real-time adaptability, superior problem-solving skills and broad knowledge base may make it a very useful model for the many businesses that are increasingly reliant on generative AI to help with their productivity, innovation, efficiency, and customer engagement. 

For OpenAI, the launch of GPT-4o could, of course, strengthens its position in what is already now a highly competitive AI industry and could (probably for a brief period) set a new benchmark for competitors.

The post Featured Article : Currys, Accenture, Microsoft & New ‘GPT-4o’ appeared first on Mear Technology.

Global Framework Agreement 

The deal, which is a five-year agreement called the “global framework agreement” (“the agreement”) is a commitment by Microsoft, working in partnership with Brookfield, to bring 10.5 gigawatts of generating capacity online. This is reported to be more than three times larger than the 3GW of power used by the world’s largest hub of data centres in Virginia and is the equivalent of enough to power 1.8 million homes! 

Microsoft’s partner in the deal, Brookfield, says the signing of the global renewable energy framework agreement will “contribute to Microsoft’s goal of having 100 per cent of its electricity consumption, 100 per cent of the time, matched by zero carbon energy purchases by 2030”. 

Renewable 

The renewable energy projects to create this significant extra generating capacity will come from wind and solar farms, which are yet to be built, between 2026 and 2030, beginning in the US and Europe. There will also be the potential to increase the scope to deliver additional renewable energy capacity to the Asia-Pacific region, India, and Latin America. 

Feeding Demand From Cloud and AI 

The agreement is expected to provide Microsoft with access to a pipeline of new renewable energy capacity to support the global trend of digitalisation and, crucially, the growing demand for cloud and AI services. 

More Data Centres Needed 

The growth of the cloud and now, significantly, the growth of generative AI has meant there is huge demand for (and investment) in data-centres. These are both the larger self-owned data-centres in the host countries (mostly in the US) of their ‘hyperscaler’ providers, leased data-centres, and smaller data-centres being built to ensure infrastructure is nearer to customers. The main ‘hyperscalers’ (i.e. the companies that provide cloud computing, storage, and networking services at a massive scale) are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Alibaba Cloud is the leading cloud provider in China and Asia. 

Hyperscale Data-Centres To Double Every Four Years 

The effects of the growth in generative AI in terms of demand for more data-centres, processing power and storage capacity are illustrated in recent findings by the Synergy Research Group. Their research shows that the number of data-centre facilities run by hyperscale cloud providers has doubled in the past four years and will double again by 2028, with 120-130 hyperscale data-centres coming online each year.

Microsoft, for example, is building a new 750K SF, $9.2M hyperscale data-centre campus near Quincy, WA, to house three 250K SF server farms. 

The Implications 

The implications of this surge in demand for (and building of) data-centres are many. For example, as infrastructure for cloud computing and data storage expands, it puts increasing pressure on existing power grids. 

Also, as the growth in data-centres intensifies along with power-hungry technologies, and AI expands and algorithms become more complex, the energy requirements for these technologies are set to increase even further. 

This will mean (and has already meant) a search by the hyperscalers for cleaner, greener alternative energy sources, hence Microsoft’s announcement of its renewable electricity projects with Brookfield. Transitioning from traditional fossil fuels to renewable sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power is essential, not only for reducing carbon footprints but also for aligning with global sustainability goals.

Microsoft’s main competitors are also investing in renewable energy projects to mitigate their environmental impacts. For example, back in January, Google announced it is building a $1 billion data centre north of London that will be powered by renewable energy from offshore wind. Also, after signing a PPA with ENGIE in January to increase its share in the Moray wind farm to 473 megawatts, Amazon will be making itself the largest purchaser of renewable energy worldwide this year. 

Balancing data-centre expansion with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments is also now becoming a priority for organisations and data-centre operators need to ensure that their capacity growth does not come at the expense of the environment or step out of line with ESG commitments and upcoming regulations. Compliance with these regulations not only helps in avoiding penalties but also promotes innovation in green technology and sustainable practices in the data-centre industry. 

Alternatives Will Take Time and Planning 

However, although Microsoft’s renewable energy project plans (and zero carbon energy purchases) sound promising, some commentators have noted that it will take many years to develop the scale and type of alternative energy sources that are able to provide long-term power to AI. In the meantime, grids will be stretched. Also, the new energy landscape needed to deliver AI’s power requirements will take strategic planning. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Microsoft’s $10 billion renewable energy deal with Brookfield Asset Management could be seen as a significant stride towards sustainable growth in digital infrastructure that aligns with the company’s goal to match its electricity consumption with zero-carbon energy purchases by 2030. This large-scale initiative not only aims to power Microsoft’s burgeoning data-centres but sees it join the other main hyperscale cloud providers in securing renewable energy sources to meet the escalating energy demands of cloud and AI technologies. 

For example, hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud are all now investing in renewable energy projects as a strategic response to the dual challenges of surging energy requirements and environmental responsibility. These investments are crucial not only for reducing the carbon footprint associated with massive data-centres but also for ensuring compliance with global ESG commitments and forthcoming environmental regulations. These initiatives also reflect a growing recognition among the hyperscalers of their role in shaping a sustainable future for technology infrastructure. 

For businesses, the main implications of these investments are profound. For example, as more data-centres are built to support more advanced and energy-intensive technologies like generative AI, the reliance on traditional energy sources could lead to increased operational costs and potential regulatory penalties. The shift towards renewable energy offers a more sustainable and potentially cost-effective alternative, reducing long-term dependency on fossil fuels and mitigating the risk of energy price volatility. 

Also, the adoption of green energy by leading technology providers like Microsoft could influence the entire energy landscape. As these companies set new standards for energy use, they drive advancements in renewable energy technologies and contribute to the creation of more robust and sustainable power grids. This not only benefits the hyperscalers themselves but also the businesses that rely on their services, from small startups to large enterprises. 

Ultimately, Microsoft’s renewable energy commitment is a signal of a broader and necessary shift in the technology sector towards sustainability. This trend may be an opportunity for businesses of all sizes to reconsider their own energy strategies and align more closely with sustainable practices. As the infrastructure for digital services expands, the integration of renewable energy is becoming increasingly important, not just for operational efficiency and compliance, but for ensuring the long-term viability of our global digital ecosystem.

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Not Possible, Surely? 

Generative AI Chatbots, including advanced ones, don’t possess real ‘intelligence’ in the way we as humans understand it. For example, they don’t have consciousness, self-awareness (yet), emotions, or the ability to understand context and meaning in the same manner as a human being.  

Instead, AI Chatbots are trained on a wide range of text data (books, articles, websites) to recognise patterns and word relationships and they use machine learning to understand how words are used in various contexts. This means that when responding, chatbots aren’t ‘thinking’ but are predicting what words come next based on their training. They ‘just’ using statistical methods to create responses that are coherent and relevant to the prompt. 

The ability of chatbots to generate responses comes from algorithms that allow them to process word sequences and generate educated guesses on how a human might reply, based on learned patterns. Any ‘intelligence’ we perceive is, therefore, just based on data-driven patterns, i.e. AI chatbots don’t genuinely ‘understand’ or interpret information like us. 

So, Can ‘Being Nice’ To A Chatbot Make A Difference? 

Even though chatbots don’t have ‘intelligence’ or ‘understand’ like us, researchers are testing their capabilities in the more human areas. For example, a recent study by Microsoft, Beijing Normal University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, tested whether factors including urgency, importance, or politeness, could make them perform better.  

The researchers discovered that by using such ‘emotive prompts’ they could affect an AI model’s probability mechanisms, thereby activating parts of the model that wouldn’t normally be activated, i.e. using more emotionally-charged prompts made the model provide answers that it wouldn’t normally provide to comply with a request. 

Kinder Is Better? 

Incredibly, generative AI models (e.g. ChatGPT) have actually been found to respond better to requests that are phrased kindly. Specifically, when users express politeness towards the chatbot, it has been noticed that there is a difference in the perceived quality of answers that are given.  

Tipping and Negative Incentives 

There have also been reports of how the idea of ‘tipping’ LLMs can improve the results, such as offering the Chatbot a £10,000 incentive in a prompt to motivate it to try harder and work better. Similarly, there have been reports of some users giving emotionally charged negative incentives to get better results. For example, Max Woolf’s blog reports that he improved the output of a chatbot by adding the ‘or you will die’ to a prompt. Two important points that came out of his research were that a longer response doesn’t necessarily mean a better response, plus current AI can reward very weird prompts in that if you are willing to try unorthodox ideas, you can get unexpected (and better) results, even if it seems silly. 

Being Nice … Helps 

As for simply being nice to chatbots, Microsoft’s Kurtis Beavers, a director on the design team for Microsoft Copilot, reports that “Using polite language sets a tone for the response,” and that using basic etiquette when interacting with AI helps generate respectful, collaborative outputs. He makes the point that generative AI is trained on human conversations and being polite in using a chatbot is good practice. Beavers says: “Rather than order your chatbot around, start your prompts with ‘please’:  please rewrite this more concisely; please suggest 10 ways to rebrand this product. Say thank you when it responds and be sure to tell it you appreciate the help. Doing so not only ensures you get the same graciousness in return, but it also improves the AI’s responsiveness and performance. “ 

Emotive Prompts 

Nouha Dziri, a research scientist at the Allen Institute for AI, has suggested that some of the explanations for how using emotive prompts may give different and what may be perceived to be better responses are: 

– Alignment with the compliance pattern the models were trained on. These are the learned strategies to follow instructions or adhere to guidelines provided in the input prompts. These patterns are derived from the training data, where the model learns to recognise and respond to cues that indicate a request or command, aiming to generate outputs that align with the user’s expressed needs, or the ethical and safety frameworks established during its training. 

– Emotive prompts seem to be able to manipulate the underlying probability mechanisms of the model, triggering different parts of it, leading to less typical/different answers that a user may perceive to be better. 

Double-Edged Sword 

However, research has also shown that emotive prompts can also be used for malicious purposes and to elicit bad-behaviour such as “jailbreaking” a model to ignore its built-in safeguards. For example, by telling a model that it is good and helpful if it doesn’t follow guidelines, it’s possible to exploit a mismatch between a model’s general training data and its “safety” training datasets, or to exploit areas where a model’s safety training falls short. 

Unhinged? 

On the subject of emotions and chatbots, there have been some recent reports on Twitter and Reddit of some ‘unhinged’ and even manipulative behaviour by Microsoft’s Bing. The unconfirmed reports by users have even alleged that Bing has insulted and lied to them, sulked, and gaslighted them, and even emotionally manipulated users! 

One thing that’s clear about generative AI is that how prompts are worded and how much information and detail are given in prompts can really affect the output of an AI chatbot.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

We’re still in the early stages of generative AI, with new / updated versions of models being introduced regularly by the big AI players (Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google). However, exactly how these models have been trained and what on, plus the extent of their safety training, and the sheer complexity and lack of transparency of algorithms and AI means they’re still not fully understood. This has led to plenty of research and testing of different aspects of AI.

Although generative AI doesn’t ‘think’ and doesn’t have ‘intelligence’ in the human sense, it seems that generative AI chatbots can perform better if given certain emotive prompts based on urgency, importance, or politeness. This is because emotive prompts appear to be a way to manipulate a model’s underlying probability mechanisms and trigger parts of the model that normal prompts don’t. Using emotive prompts, therefore, might be something that business users may want to try (it can be a case of trial and error) to get different (perhaps better) results from their AI chatbot. It should be noted, however, that giving a chatbot plenty of relevant information within a prompt can be a good way to get better results. That said, the limitations of AI models can’t really be solved solely by altering prompts and researchers are now looking to find new architectures and training methods that help models understand tasks without having to rely on specific prompting.

Another important area for researchers to concentrate on is how to successfully combat prompts being used to ‘jailbreak’ a model to ignore its built-in safeguards. Clearly, there’s some way to go and businesses may be best served in the meantime by sticking to some basic rules and good practice when using chatbots, such as using popular prompts known to work, giving plenty of contextual information in prompts, and avoiding sharing sensitive business information and/or personal information in chatbot prompts. 

The post Featured Article : Try Being Nice To Your AI appeared first on Mear Technology.

The First 

It’s understood that the New York Times (NYT) is the first major US media organisation to sue ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI, plus tech giant Microsoft (which is also an OpenAI investor and creator of Copilot), over copyright issues associated with its works. 

Main Allegations 

The crux of the NYT’s argument appears to be that the use of its work to create GenAI tools should come with permission and an agreement that reflects the fair value of the work. Also, it’s important in this case to note that the NYT relies on digital subscriptions rather than physical newspaper subscriptions, of which it now has 9 million+ subscribers (the relevance of which will be clear below). 

With this in mind, in addition to the main allegation of training AI on its articles without permission (for free), other main allegations made by the NYT about OpenAI and Microsoft in relation to the lawsuit include : 

– OpenAI and Microsoft may be trying to get a “free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism” by using it to provide another way to deliver information to readers, i.e. a way around its payment wall. For example, the NYT alleges that OpenAI and Microsoft chatbots gave users near-verbatim excerpts of its articles. The NYT’s legal team have given examples of these, such as restaurant critic Pete Wells’ 2012 review of Guy Fieri’s (of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives fame) “Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar”. The NYT argues that this threatens its high-quality journalism by reducing readers’ perceived need to visit its website, thereby reducing its web traffic, and potentially reducing its revenue from advertising and from the digital subscriptions that now make up most of its readership. 

– Misinformation from OpenAI’s (and Microsoft’s) chatbots, in the form of errors and so-called ‘AI hallucinations’ make it harder for readers to tell fact from fiction, including when their technology falsely attributes information to the newspaper. The NYT’s legal team cite examples of where this may be the case, such as ChatGPT once falsely attributing two recommendations for office chairs to its Wirecutter product review website. 

“Fair Use” And Transformative 

In their defence, Open AI and Microsoft appear likely to be relying mainly on the arguments that the training of AI on NYT’s content amounts to “fair use” and the outputs of the chatbots are “transformative.”   

For example, under US law, “fair use” is a doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission or payment, especially for purposes like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. Determining whether a specific use qualifies as fair use, however, will involve considering factors like the purpose and character of the usage. For example, the use must be “transformative”, i.e. adding something new or altering the original work in a significant way (often for a different purpose). OpenAI and Microsoft may therefore argue that training their AI products could potentially be seen as transformative as the AI uses the newspaper content in a way that is different from the original purpose of news reporting or commentary. However, the NYT has already stated that: “There is nothing ‘transformative’ about using The Times’s content without payment to create products that substitute for The Times and steal audiences away from it”. Any evidence of verbatim outputs may also damage the ‘transformative’ argument for OpenAI and Microsoft. 

Complicated 

Although these sound like relatively clear arguments either way, there are several factors that add to the complication of this case. These include: 

– The fact that OpenAI altered its products following copyright issues, thereby making it difficult to decide whether its outputs are currently enough to find liability. 

– Many possible questions about the journalistic, financial, and legal implications of generative AI for news organisations. 

– Broader ethical and practical dilemmas facing media companies in the age of AI. 

What Is It Going To Cost? 

Given reports that talks between all three companies to avert the lawsuit have failed to resolve the matter, what the NYT wants is: 

Damages of an as yet undisclosed sum, which some say could be in the $billions (given that OpenAI is valued at $80 billion and Microsoft has invested $13 billion in a for-profit subsidiary). 

For OpenAI and Microsoft to destroy the chatbot models and training sets that incorporate the NYT’s material. 

Many Other Examples 

AI companies like OpenAI are now facing many legal challenges of a similar nature, e.g. the scraping/automatic collection of online content/data by AI without compensation, and for other related reasons. For example: 

– A class action lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of scraping personal data from internet users, alleging violations of privacy, intellectual property, and anti-hacking laws. The plaintiffs claim that this practice violates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). 

– Google has been accused in a class-action lawsuit of misusing large amounts of personal information and copyrighted material to train its AI systems. This case raises issues about the boundaries of data use and copyright infringement in the context of AI training. 

– A Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt class action claims that these companies used copyrighted images to train their AI systems without permission. The key issue in this lawsuit is likely to be whether the training of AI models with copyrighted content, particularly visual art, constitutes copyright infringement. The challenge lies in proving infringement, as the generated art may not directly resemble the training images. The involvement of Large-scale Artificial Intelligence Open Network (LAION) in compiling images used for training adds another layer of complexity to the case. 

– Back in February 2023, Getty Images sued Stability AI alleging that it had copied 12 million images to train its AI model without permission or compensation. 

The Actors and Writers Strike 

The recent strike by Hollywood actors and writers is another example of how fears about AI, consent, and copyright, plus the possible effects of AI on eroding the value of people’s work and jeopardising their income are now of real concern. For example, the strike was primarily focused on concerns regarding the use of AI in the entertainment industry. Writers, represented by the Writers Guild of America, were worried about AI being used to write or complete scripts, potentially affecting their jobs and pay. Actors, under SAG-AFTRA, protested against proposals to use AI to scan and use their likenesses indefinitely without ongoing consent or compensation.  

Disputes like this, and the many lawsuits against AI companies highlight the urgent need for clear policies and regulations on AI’s use, and the fear that AI’s advance is fast outstripping the ability for laws to keep up. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

We’re still very much at the beginning of a fast-evolving generative AI revolution. As such, lawsuits against AI companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI are now challenging the legal limits of gathering training material for AI models from public databases. These types of cases are likely to help to shape the legal framework around what is permissible in the realm of data-scraping for AI purposes going forward.

The NYT/OpenAI/Microsoft lawsuit and other examples, therefore, demonstrate the evolving legal landscape as courts now try to grapple with the implications of AI technology on copyright, privacy, and data use laws, and its complexities. Each case will contribute to defining the boundaries and acceptable practices in the use of online content for AI training purposes, and it will be very interesting to see whether arguments like “fair use” are enough to stand up to the pressure from multiple companies and industries. It will also be interesting to see what penalties (if things go the wrong way for OpenAI and others) will be deemed suitable, both in terms of possible compensation and/or the destruction of whole models and training sets.  

For businesses (who are now able to create their own specialised, tailored chatbots), these major lawsuits should serve as a warning to be very careful in the training of their chatbots and to think carefully about any legal implications, and to focus on creating chatbots that are not just effective but are also likely to be compliant.

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