Federal officials once feared Amazon could train AI on government data
Even the government sometimes freaks out about changes to the terms and conditions. Documents obtained by Fast Company through a public records request show that officials of at least two federal agencies were, at least briefly, anxious about whether Amazon might have been allowed to train its AI using government data. The concerns appear to have been short lived, but the exchange highlights how…
Federal agencies once expressed concern that Amazon could utilize government data to train artificial intelligence. Documents revealed by Fast Company suggest that officials from at least two agencies feared this possibility, although their worries were short-lived. The concerns arose in early 2024 when an IT official at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) contacted colleagues regarding Amazon's updated terms of service.
The official noted that Amazon had allowed usage of data outside its environment and even beyond U.S. soil. This development raised fears of potential data leakage, affecting about 22 Amazon services, including Amazon Rekognition, which includes facial recognition and has been used by the FBI. The SEC official urged federal chief information officers to contact Amazon representatives and request an "official policy change."
The FBI also inquired about potential exposure and assessed their Amazon usage, only to learn that Amazon's services were stored on a different cloud system, meaning the changes would not impact FBI data. Experts like Varoon Mathur, a former White House Presidential Innovation Fellow, explained that such incidents are common in government technology due to the lack of technical understanding among procurement officials. The SEC declined to comment, while Amazon did not respond to multiple requests for clarification.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
