Backlash against Microsoft’s ham-handed rollout of its Recall app for some PC users was swift and well-earned. But privacy expert Scott Allendeveaux says that while Microsoft’s missteps were indeed dumb, the underlying tech in the app could present benefits to companies that can balance the privacy vs. functionality scales.
On initial review, Microsoft’s Recall rollout was stunningly boneheaded from a privacy perspective, but after a closer, multi-layered examination, the business strategy behind Recall becomes readily apparent — the software giant is attempting to inject artificial intelligence into virtually every aspect of our online life.
Recall was set to offer innovative capabilities for efficient information management and quick information retrieval, but it also posed major data privacy risks. Moreover, in an enterprise setting, the app has the very real potential of exposing sensitive proprietary data in a worst-case scenario, and these scenarios are becoming ever more common.
Recall’s functionality highlights the particular threat AI poses to our privacy rights. Microsoft’s initial decision to enable Recall to load by default without user consent was alarming and invasive. The subsequent changes to make it an opt-in situation reflect the importance of user autonomy and the need…
