from Hacker News

New Windows AI feature records everything you've done on your PC

by quantisan on 5/21/24, 10:42 AM with 50 comments

• by bhyahoo on 5/21/24, 6:54 PM

  This is Microsoft collecting lots of data to shove into AI training while selling the data collection to users as a feature for their benefit.

  Same as Google adding feature to android to warn you on live calls if they detect it's a scam call. Requires them collecting, uploading and analyzing the phone call live in process.

  You are the product, and so is your data.

• by abrichr on 5/22/24, 1:32 AM

  https://openadapt.ai has similar functionality, except:

  - it's open source

  - it only records when you explicitly tell it to

  - it has multiple PII/PHI scrubbing providers built in (see https://github.com/OpenAdaptAI/OpenAdapt?tab=readme-ov-file#...)

  - the reason for recording is to automate tasks in desktop apps

  - it's cross platform (Mac and Windows)

  Full disclosure: I'm the primary author. Feedback welcome!

• by lemondice on 5/22/24, 5:23 PM

  Why is anyone surprised? Everything you do recorded and you have no way to see or delete the data. Just like that company that ripped off the Beatles record company name has been doing for years.

• by miles on 5/21/24, 6:14 PM

  This HN post from last month generated a lot of interest (525 points, 166 comments) and recommendations for similar tools:

  I made an open source Windows app to rewind and search everything on screen https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40105371

• by snowwrestler on 5/22/24, 4:31 PM

  I continue to believe that the essential challenge in AI is trust, not just capability.

  Obviously if you can give an AI system lots of data about your life, it can learn ways to automate and improve it. But do we trust AI companies with that data? Not really, not now anyway.

  Ultimately there may be a technical solution to this challenge, kind of like how E2E encryption addresses many trust concerns around messaging.

  But if companies pursue capability without addressing trust, they might find a harder time in the marketplace than they expect.

• by chris-buck on 5/21/24, 5:46 PM

  Who asked for this? What problem does this solve?

• by floppiplopp on 5/22/24, 7:00 AM

  I'll just continue to laugh at every windows user... only harder. But I guess the technically illiterate managerial caste still will throw dumb money at the hype that the desktop monopolist has a lot of investment wasted in.

• by onemoresoop on 5/22/24, 4:38 PM

  Windows users will be Microsoft's lunch. I will warn whoever I know to avoid windows 11 at all costs. Whoever thinks this is a great idea, it's on them I guess.

• by afinlayson on 5/23/24, 3:06 AM

  This is concerning and a huge opportunity for Security thieves to learn what you did before they connected to your computer. Then make it easier to have async calls when you repeat the action they want to hack.

  Ohh I see you bank at Bank of America, I'll create a script to reroute through my server and give me full access to your account instead.

• by deafpolygon on 5/23/24, 11:46 AM

  > threaten the lives of journalists or perceived enemies of the state

  Whew. You had me going there. Journalists or perceived enemies of the state won't be using Microsoft products, anyways.

• by jononor on 5/24/24, 12:54 PM

  It is getting more and more like the Matrix. Just that we are being harvested for our data (behavioural patterns), not the energy.

• by bluetidepro on 5/22/24, 5:08 PM

  I can’t imagine they launch this feature without a way to disable it. Or if they are that crazy, I imagine someone will write some script that blocks it.

• by lispm on 5/21/24, 6:24 PM

  what can go wrong?

• by dc_ist on 5/23/24, 12:56 AM

  Anyone beginning to think that maybe owning a desktop/laptop PC doesn't make sense anymore?

• by zomg on 5/24/24, 2:51 PM

  i remember when we used to call this malware... :x

• by guilhas on 5/21/24, 8:18 PM

  I quite liked the abandoned linux zeitgeist

• by htrp on 5/21/24, 8:16 PM

  basically rewind ai on mac