Microsoft tests feature for Copilot AI that remembers your past chats and it could enrage privacy activists

Date:
Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:31:06 +0000

Description:
This is a new feature for Copilot that youll either very much love or hate...

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Microsoft is trying out another feature for Copilot which could prove controversial , allowing for users to turn on personalization for the AI, tailoring its responses based on previous chats.

Windows Latest discovered the feature in Copilot which, despite being officially renamed to that , is still referred to as Bing Chat in some menus and has had a play with it.

When the option for personalization (in Settings) is turned on, the AI uses insights gleaned from your chat history to make conversations unique to you the feature blurb states. Elsewhere Microsoft mentions that its recent conversations which are referred back to, although how far back it goes isnt made clear.

Windows Latest gives us an example scenario where you have chatted about learning French with Copilot, and then you start a new topic on learning software. Copilot might then suggest apps that help in your quest to learn to speak French.

This feature is only available to some Copilot users, and it seems Microsoft is still testing the concept. According to feedback online, some users have seen the functionality come and go from their Copilot AI.

Windows Latest highlights a further addition into the mix for Copilot, namely a Search on Bing option that appears when you hover over a message in the chat. If your query isnt satisfactorily dealt with by the AI, this allows you to easily fire up a web search as a follow-up. Analysis: Double-edged sword?

Personalization could be regarded as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, additional context is going to be useful for making the AI come up with material more relevant to your needs. On the other hand, it brings up questions about how far back in the chat history Microsoft combs, and issues related to that data is any kind of personal profile being built here beyond the limited nature presented (i.e. recent chats only)?

Wed assume not, but this is an idea thats been floated on online forums (like Reddit ) before now, and folks are always going to be paranoid around the privacy of these kinds of features. And thats not surprising, really, given the amount of data hoovering and profiling big tech companies engage in on a broader level.

Notably, Microsoft has felt the wrath of EU regulations of late, interfering with the software giants plans for Copilot considerably, and meaning the AI hasnt been deployed to European users yet, while legal wrinkles are ironed out. That involves not just work on Copilot, but other changes in Microsofts products elsewhere ( some of them relatively radical like removing Bings
hooks from the search box in the Windows 11 taskbar ).

Speaking of Bing, the new integrated search option for Copilot is a useful extra, though we dont expect any option to change the search engine being
used will be forthcoming (of course). Bard has a similar built-in Google It capability, it should be noted, which has been in that AI since its launch,
so Microsoft is playing catch-up here. You might also like... Windows 11 remains an unloved OS but why won't people upgrade? This stunning Windows 12 concept video shows us everything Windows 11 is missing Dont make these 5 big mistakes when using Windows 11



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-tests-feature-for-copilo t-ai-that-remembers-your-past-chats-and-it-could-enrage-privacy-activists


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