Meta to Train AI on EU Public Content with Opt-Out Option

Meta Platforms Inc. has announced plans to train its generative AI models using public content shared by adults on its platforms within the European Union. This initiative, which includes posts and comments from users on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, aims to enhance the AI's understanding of European cultures, languages, and history, including dialects, colloquialisms, hyper-local knowledge, and the use of humor and sarcasm. The company will begin sending notifications to EU users this week, detailing the types of data to be used and providing an opt-out link. Meta emphasizes that private messages and data from users under 18 will not be utilized for this purpose. Additionally, the AI training will incorporate multi-modal functionality, spanning text, voice, video, and imagery. This move follows the successful launch of Meta AI in Europe last month, aligning with practices by other tech giants like Google and OpenAI, which have also used European user data to train their AI models.