AI Companies Really, Really Want to Buy Your Work Files and Emails
Data brokers are collecting all sorts of internal corporate files to help train AI models. Not everyone is thrilled.
AI companies are aggressively seeking to purchase the work files and emails of professionals in order to train their artificial intelligence models. The practice, which involves buying and de-identifying sensitive data, has been gaining momentum as AI labs spend over $45 billion on private data to build better models. Companies like Handshake, Micro1, and Mercor have been heavily involved in this booming industry, acquiring databases from various sources and offering significant sums for the rights to use professionals' work.
For instance, Handshake offered a freelance writer $1,000 for her work on a single story, while Micro1 CEO Ali Ansari estimated that the data-buying market could reach over a trillion dollars within the next few years. However, the process of purchasing and anonymizing data has raised concerns about privacy and the potential for personal information to leak through.
Critics argue that the industry is moving too fast to establish proper standards for data acquisition, and that workers are often enlisted without explicit consent. Despite these concerns, Mercor's CEO Brendan Foody maintains that rigorous de-identification processes are in place to ensure the privacy of the information being sold.
Written by urgent.news from Wired's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
