Can AI be trusted with confidential information?
That was the question at stake when the popular AI transcription service Otter, which has more than 14 million userssent an automated transcript of a Zoom meeting to AI researcher Alex Bilzerian last week after he met with a VC firm. The thing is, Bilzerian wasn't supposed to see the full transcript, which also transcribed conversations he wasn't meant to hear between the VCs after the official call.
Bilzerian wrote that the AI included “hours of their private conversations” including “intimate, confidential details about their business” in a post on X which has been viewed over five million times.
A VC firm I had a Zoom meeting with used Otter AI to record the call, and after the meeting, automatically emailed me the transcript, including hours of their private conversations afterwards where they discussed intimate, confidential details about their business.
— Alex Bilzerian (@alexbilz) September 26, 2024
Otter he answered Bilzerian at X and stated that the VC company could have chosen not to automatically release the transcript. It's unclear whether the company forgot to end a Zoom call or turn off AI transcription after the call.
said Bilzerian Washington Post that he decided not to proceed with the agreement based on the transcript he received.
X users raised concerns about AI's growing footprint in dating and shared related anecdotes in response to Bilzerian's post.
Mark Cecchini, director of wealth solutions at Quadrant Capital, has written that AI assistants were joining meetings more often without being allowed to do so. Kristen Ruby, CEO of public relations firm Ruby Media Group, with a tip that virtual therapy takes place through recorded video calls, leading to a potential data breach.
Related: These days, everything is 'powered by AI.' Here's how to tell hype from real innovation.
A user X wrote that his wife received an AI transcript of a private meeting, while another ALLEGED they received a transcript after an interview with a recorded conversation about why they were not suitable.
Concerns about AI privacy are not new. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, AI has the potential to increasing the scope of supervision BY increasing facial recognition technology and predictive algorithms in social media.
However, AI may have an advantage. One May 2024 Goldman Sachs study estimates that AI could increase productivity by 25% and notes that “early signs of future productivity gains look very, very positive.”