Total Microsoft Recall!
Summary
TLDRThe transcript discusses Microsoft's 'Recall' feature, an AI tool that monitors users' computer activities to provide contextual assistance. While the concept is intriguing, concerns arise over privacy, as it collects extensive data, including screenshots. The conversation explores the balance between utility and surveillance, questioning Microsoft's intentions and the potential for data exploitation. It also compares 'Recall' with other assistants like Siri and Alexa, noting the inherent privacy trade-offs in AI-driven personalization.
Takeaways
- 😲 Microsoft is developing an AI feature called 'Recall' that monitors user activity on their computer to provide contextual assistance.
- 🔍 'Recall' is designed to remember and retrieve past activities, such as searching for a movie, by taking frequent screenshots of the user's screen.
- 🤔 The feature raises privacy concerns as it collects extensive user data, and there's skepticism about Microsoft's commitment to protecting this information.
- 🛡️ Users can opt out of 'Recall', but it's not an opt-in feature by default, which some find concerning and feels like a lack of transparency.
- 👀 The feature is compared to other AI assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, which also collect user data but may not take literal screenshots.
- 🏢 There's a particular worry about the implications for employees if employers have admin access, potentially giving them access to everything an employee does on a work computer.
- 💼 The script discusses the potential for 'Recall' to be a double-edged sword, offering helpful context but also risking exposure of sensitive information.
- 🔐 A cybersecurity expert found that even though 'Recall' data is encrypted, an admin can access it in plain text, which poses a significant security risk.
- 🚫 The feature's execution is criticized for being poorly thought out, with concerns about the potential for misuse of data and lack of user control.
- 🤖 The script highlights the ongoing tension between the desire for AI to provide contextually relevant assistance and the need to protect user privacy.
- 🎥 The conversation ends with a humorous take on the potential misuse of such a feature, suggesting that even if it's theoretically beneficial, the practical implementation raises red flags.
Q & A
What is the AI feature 'Recall' that Microsoft has been discussing and demoing?
-Recall is an AI-based feature that Microsoft has been showcasing. It monitors everything a user does on their computer, allowing the AI to provide context-aware assistance when users ask about past activities.
How does the 'Recall' feature work in terms of context retention?
-The 'Recall' feature works by taking screenshots of the user's activities every 5 seconds, storing these images to provide contextual information when the user requests information about something they did previously.
What are the privacy concerns associated with Microsoft's 'Recall' feature?
-Privacy concerns arise from the feature's ability to record and store user activities. There are worries about potential exploitation of this data, and whether Microsoft can be trusted to protect such sensitive information.
Why is the 'Recall' feature set to be opt-out rather than opt-in?
-The script suggests that the 'Recall' feature is opt-out, which may be seen as unusual and potentially intrusive. It raises questions about why users are not given the choice to opt in and whether this approach is designed to encourage more users to keep the feature enabled.
What is the potential issue with the 'Recall' feature being accessible to administrators?
-If an administrator has access to the computer, they can potentially view the screenshots stored by the 'Recall' feature, even though the data is encrypted and not supposed to be accessible. This could lead to privacy breaches, especially in a workplace setting.
How does the 'Recall' feature compare to other AI assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa?
-While Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa also collect data to provide personalized assistance, the 'Recall' feature is distinct because it involves taking and storing screenshots of user activities, which can feel more invasive and raise additional privacy concerns.
What is the potential risk if an employer requires the 'Recall' feature to be enabled on company computers?
-If an employer mandates the use of 'Recall' and has access to the data, it could lead to a significant invasion of privacy, as they would have the ability to view all activities performed on the computer, including personal and non-work-related actions.
How does the 'Recall' feature handle sensitive information like passwords?
-The script mentions that if the 'Recall' feature takes a screenshot while a password is being entered with the 'show password' option enabled, that password could be stored and potentially accessed by administrators or through security breaches.
What is the difference between the 'Recall' feature and Google Photos search feature in terms of user trust?
-While Google Photos search also analyzes user data, it does not involve taking real-time screenshots of the user's screen. This difference might make users more comfortable with Google Photos search compared to the 'Recall' feature.
What could Microsoft do to increase trust in the 'Recall' feature?
-To increase trust, Microsoft could implement additional encryption layers, ensure that data is not stored in plaintext, and provide users with more control over the data collection process, such as an easy opt-out option.
How does the 'Recall' feature relate to the broader discussion about AI and privacy?
-The 'Recall' feature exemplifies the ongoing debate about the balance between the benefits of AI, such as personalized assistance, and the potential privacy risks associated with the collection and storage of personal data.
Outlines
🤖 Microsoft's AI Recall Feature: Privacy Concerns
The script discusses Microsoft's AI feature called 'Recall,' which monitors users' activities on their computer to provide contextual assistance. The speaker expresses concerns about privacy, as the feature collects extensive data about users' behaviors. They mention the trade-off between the feature's usefulness and the potential for data exploitation. The speaker also criticizes the opt-out nature of the feature, questioning why it's not an opt-in choice and pointing out the difficulty of opting out during the setup process. They compare Recall to other AI assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, noting that these also collect user data but may not be as invasive as Recall, which takes physical screenshots. The potential for employers to access this data is also highlighted as a concern.
🔒 Potential Security Flaws in Microsoft's Recall
This paragraph delves into the cybersecurity implications of Microsoft's Recall feature. It is revealed that even though the feature's data is encrypted, administrators can access the screenshots in plain text through a local folder. The script discusses the ease with which sensitive information could be exposed, such as passwords and financial data, if the feature is not properly configured to avoid capturing certain applications. The potential for hackers to exploit this feature is also considered, along with the broader implications for user privacy and data security.
😕 The Creepy Line Between Convenience and Privacy
The speaker contemplates the fine line between the convenience offered by AI features and the invasion of privacy they represent. They acknowledge the cool concept behind Recall but express skepticism about Microsoft's execution and the potential misuse of data. The paragraph also addresses the public's reaction to the feature, with many finding the constant screenshots unsettling. The speaker suggests that if the feature were to be encrypted in a way that requires user decryption for each use, it might alleviate some concerns, but trust in Microsoft remains an issue.
🎥 The Reality of Living in a Sci-Fi World
In the final paragraph, the script reflects on how features once imagined in science fiction are now becoming reality, and with them, the realization of their potential to be invasive. The speaker humorously suggests that if Google Photos took snapshots of users' cameras every few seconds, it would be less acceptable than the current photo storage practices. The paragraph concludes with a satirical take on the idea of Recall, imagining a scenario where Microsoft, as an administrator, would have access to users' every move, highlighting the absurdity and discomfort of such a situation.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Recall
💡AI Context
💡Opt-in and Opt-out
💡Privacy
💡Surveillance
💡Encryption
💡Admin Access
💡Screenshots
💡Consumer Trust
💡PR Disaster
💡Creepy
Highlights
Microsoft's AI feature 'Recall' monitors users' computer activities to provide contextual assistance based on past actions.
Recall's AI can remember and provide information about users' past activities, such as movie searches.
The feature raises privacy concerns as it collects extensive user data, with the onus on Microsoft to protect this information.
There is skepticism about Microsoft's claims of not scraping data from Recall, given the company's business interests.
Users can disable Recall's monitoring for specific apps, but it still poses risks to sensitive information if not configured properly.
Recall's opt-out setup during computer configuration and lack of clear consent raises questions about user agency and privacy.
Despite privacy concerns, Recall shares similarities with other AI assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, which also collect user data.
Microsoft's business focus on enterprise could lead to employer access to employees' private data through Recall, raising ethical issues.
Recall's screenshots are encrypted, but an admin can access them locally, which poses a security risk.
The feature's execution is criticized for being poorly thought out, with significant flaws and security risks.
Recall's potential usefulness is acknowledged, but the risks associated with the data it collects overshadow its benefits.
The idea of an AI assistant with extensive contextual knowledge is appealing, but the implementation of Recall raises privacy and security concerns.
The public's reaction to Recall is mixed, with some finding it invasive and others acknowledging its potential utility.
The feature is set to officially release on June 18th, with concerns about whether its issues will be addressed by then.
The discussion highlights the broader issue of trust in tech companies and the balance between utility and privacy.
The conversation compares Recall to other tech features, like Google Photos search, to illustrate the difference in public perception of data collection methods.
Transcripts
well speaking of things that are
everywhere um Microsoft has been talking
about and demoing this feature that is
everywhere all over your computer it's
called
recall and it's an AI based feature I
would say where basically this is an
oversimplification but what it's
basically doing is watching everything
you're doing on your computer so that
anytime you want to ask the AI about
something that you done previously it
has that context and can tell you so you
could go what was that movie I was
looking up yesterday and then it can
just oh oh I remember I took a
screenshot every 5 seconds for the last
15 years I remember exactly what you're
talking about and it can tell you and
this goes back to my theory about AIS
which are it has to know a ton about you
to be helpful and so here is an exact
representation of that tradeoff this is
probably a very helpful feature but it
knows everything you do on your computer
and it's up to Microsoft to protect that
information somehow and naturally all
the articles about how uh it can
potentially be exploited can I bring up
a tweet I had about this that had a lot
of I don't want to say backlash I think
it was like all super super reasonable
responses to it that I agree with all of
them but I just said like I see why
people hate this it feels creepy but I
think it's awesome and could be useful
um and then I also said I don't get why
it's not opt in defaulting it is really
weird and like I still think there is
some kind of interesting things about
this it feels almost like a
fear-mongering tactic of like if you
don't have this enabled what if you get
to that point where you realize it could
have been useful and then you're like
wish I had that enabled and then you
enable it but I do agree with everything
that's been said which is one Microsoft
claims they're not scraping data from it
but like why should we believe a
trillion dollar company that is telling
you they're not going to make money off
of something that could make them money
always be skeptical of that it does seem
like a like it's just watching you all
the time that's weird you can disable
some things uh so it's not looking in
like certain apps and stuff and then
also I don't get why it's opt out and
not only is it opt out it's it like pops
up in a screen when you're setting up
the new thing and says what it's doing
but there's no slider to agree there you
have to go into the settings after you
finish the setup and actually opt out of
it which all feels really sketchy let me
play Dell's Advocate it's an OP out
feature that knows everything that's on
your device but is an assistant that can
help
you so is Siri so is Google assistant so
is
Alexa none of those are taking
screenshots of your bank information so
I think the way they describe it of
taking screenshots makes it feel worse
100% but how does Siri not have all of
the same downsides Siri plugs into your
contacts knows all of your contacts it's
not screenshots but it knows all of your
contact it knows everything about all
the things you've ever asked Siri to do
all the quer you've ever had and it's
all encrypted and on device and
shouldn't ever be sold to any
advertisers it still doesn't have
screenshots of my bank
account and other like right is that I
think the main thing is that these are
physical screenshots of things you do on
your computer my bigger concern is that
this is Microsoft which traditionally
has made all of its money from
businesses and like getting fleets of
computers to businesses and
what happens when your employer is like
you cannot turn this off and I have
access to everything that you've ever
looked at on your
computer so your employer just has like
unfettered access to your it's like one
of those things where you're like I
don't want you to see
everything but then it like obviously
everybody at some point during their
workday is doing something not work
rated and that's just what happens in
real life but like you feel you can't
like run what I'm ordering Taco Bell
right now on this podcast theoretically
shouldn't be able to like remotely
access it but I did read that if you
have admin access you can look at any
users stuff yeah okay so what's that so
the what I understand Microsoft to be
saying is oh yeah this is all private
like yes it is using screenshots to
remember everything but it's not storing
them in some way that could be stolen
somehow it's supposed to encrypt them
and then no one can ever use these
screenshots other than this feature
that's how I understand it to be
explained but supposed to is heavy
lifting yeah what I hear is it's not
exactly I feel like a lot of people are
getting nervous about this too because
everyone understands screenshots if you
tell someone that using an Android phone
like Google is keeping your data and
they're tracking you and they like have
all these complicated algorithms that
know where you're going algorithms
people are like abstractly aware that
Google's tracking them but these are
like physical screenshots so that's what
everyone's like wait I know what that is
that's weird I I think that's weird it's
it's like if Microsoft was a person they
would just be over your shoulder at all
times looking at every single thing you
do and that's just like feels really
creepy every five seconds but so there
was there was somebody who's a cyber
security expert who was looking into
more how uh recall works and what he
found is that the even though it's
encrypted if you're an admin on the
computer there's a local folder called a
app data and all of them everything's
just listed there in plain text so like
if you were an admin on a computer even
though it's encrypted from outside
if you're in that position on the
computer as the user physically or I'm
assuming even remote if you're
controlling the computer remotely and it
thinks it's locally you can just have
access to those screenshots and even
though you can say like don't take
screenshots of you can uh select
different programs that you want it to
so like let's say you disable Chrome
anytime Chrome is open it will take the
screenshots but it's not going to show
anything that's in Chrome but if you
don't it can't tell the difference
between what is like a password field or
sensitive information field so if you do
have show password on or your bank
information or venmo or PayPal or
anything that has to do with your
finances all of that stuff is now stored
in a folder that is accessible as an
admin yeah I've just been reading this
this article which seems insane right it
seems incredibly poorly thought out it's
extremely poorly I was like is it a like
what is a plain text of a screenshot is
it literally is it like a hash and then
it's you can't get the information from
it but it seems like it's literally all
of the most useful information is
because the way that this feature works
is it takes the screenshot and then the
AI like interprets the text on the
screenshot and the images on the
screenshot so that when you ask for
things contextually it can pull up the
right one that exhibits those features
which like in theory this all
is cool with as long as you it's like 20
asteris yeah yeah it's like at the core
this is kind of a cool idea but there
are just so many flaws and like creepy
and potential security risks associated
with it that it's really hard I just as
an employee would be absolutely
terrified even at home like I would be
pretty worried about this just like if
somebody does get into your
account yeah you're kind of just screwed
you're cooked that's you're cooked my
other get cooked bro my other dev's
Advocate was going to be if someone gets
so far into your computer that they've
logged into the admin into your account
like you're already screwed beyond
anything that this could do any employer
has the admin access yeah that any
employer has an admin access and also it
could potentially just literally have
passwords in plain text I it's that's
what it sounds like it could just have
passwords in plain text which would be
pretty bad yeah it would have to be in
the situation where like you type in a
password and it has show yeah and then
it takes a screenshot at that time but
if it's taking a screenshot every 5
Seconds that's something that Happ every
five seconds if the screen is different
oh if the screen is different yeah Fair
it's super plausible that passwords
could be listed in there pretty easily
especially with how often you have to
change them now when I'm double entering
passwords in like to confirm I usually
have show open just cuz I'm typing the
18th iteration of the same password I've
had ever and I need to make sure it's
actually or you click the little I thing
to see if you typed it correctly before
you hit enter yeah and there are hackers
and stuff that will like Trojan Horse
your computer or whatever and then like
just wait for you to input this
information and like have that access
already and steal your information yeah
but this way they don't even need to do
that yeah they don't have to wait I feel
like you're devil's advocate of like
you're already screwed when you get that
far into it it's like now it's just
easier because maybe before they get
into it and then it's like well now we
have to wait now it's like we get into
it and I just have it all and I don't
even need to wait anymore it's just mine
wow it all feels uh rough and I get I
think I'll take back my I think this
feature is
cool well I think the idea
I think the idea is cool and I don't
think there's a company out there that I
would trust do I also just don't know
like from a very theoretical highle
perspective it seems like a cool idea
but I can't actually Trace back to a
time when I would have used this and now
that it's out there I bet you'll find a
time at some point within the next year
where like that may have been helpful
maybe but is it worth it we talk all the
time about oh like potential like what
if the Humane device was recording
things and you could be like oh what was
oh you know like recall back it's like a
helpful memory of something like this is
it on your computer and we spend a lot
of time on computers rewind pendant that
is on your pretty much that was an idea
that's why that's why I keep saying the
idea is cool but the execution is so
hard I I still love the idea of a of an
assistant that knows everything about
you and can do whatever but we keep
asking these assistants to get better
with context like even remember the
early days of Google Assistant we' we'd
want to just say a question and it knows
the context the previous question or I'd
say who's the coach of the Denver
Nuggets and then I'll go how tall is he
and it remembers the previous question
it's just all about having good context
and we want to give it as much good
context as possible so it can actually
answer but the more context you try to
give it the more data the more
information it has to know about you and
what you're doing and what you've been
asking and what you've been trying to do
and that's why some of the ones but also
a lot of data yeah that's that's
basically what it is it's really hard to
think like Microsoft says they're not
going to scrape any of this data but as
a company that's focusing so much on AI
how useful would it be to have
screenshots every 5 Seconds of everybody
that uses your computers companies say
things all the time and then they end up
having done the thing that they said
they weren't going to do all the time
that one's just a all the time yeah I
think best case scenario is they don't
scrape anything right now and then they
change their priorities on it and say we
are going to scrape on it my tinf foil
hat is that they ran out of things to
scrape and this just gives them a bucket
of more stuff to scrape for a bigger llm
is this feature out yet yes like it's
officially out the recall I don't think
it's officially out yet I think there's
some test
versions but that computer is not out
yet either yeah
true yeah so it comes out on June 18th
apparently do you think they'll
restructure how they do this by then no
I think they just what if it's encrypted
for real and like every time you want to
use this feature you have to like
decrypt it about would that make it less
creepy name the one thing that could
this could do that would make you trust
Microsoft doing this well what could
Microsoft say that makes you trust them
cancel it
I I think what he's saying would like I
have my own decryption like add an extra
layer of friction for me to decry it
can't be stored in PL text it has to be
stored in an encrypted way that is only
unencrypt by some additional
steps so it's not actually viewable by
anyone and it's not ever uploaded
anywhere and it it's useful still yeah I
think that's that's the only way to make
this work I guess even in that sense
though do you still trust that Microsoft
being the person who is doing the
encryption aspect of it do you trust
them to not be I mean as long as it's
not some of their some weird encryption
algorithm that proprietary to their
thing like if they use a regular
encryption algorithm that's I don't know
about encryption but I would just assume
that if Microsoft is selling me
something they can have access to
if they want to I'm not saying they're
going
to skepticism has to be there any
trillion dollar compan Apple does the
same exact thing oh yeah so you don't
trust it Apple's so does Google I mean
most of them is like I've just taken the
the account of like I don't trust them
but I like the feature they're doing so
I'm okay with that this is just seems
like the step further of like
information I say that I especially
don't trust
Microsoft like they are like business
business money money money business
money and apple is money money Mone
money but they are from you we're going
to make the money from you not business
I think what I read from that is how bad
of a PR disaster would it be if they got
caught scraping and it wouldn't be as
bad for Microsoft as it would for other
more consumer facing companies I think
it's not as bad for Microsoft because
people expect them to be doing it
already yeah so no one's surprised if
it's a person who buys a Windows laptop
and it's like oh Microsoft is very very
business focused they're not losing
business customers because I feel like
it's still would though they wouldn't
use I don't think they'd lose business
customers cuz the business they might
gain some business customers yeah I was
going to say the businesses want more
unfettered access to that kind of stuff
that might be true but I think you're
right that like if it was a more
personal Computing company like apple
which makes almost all of its money off
the consumers that would be a PR
disaster for them yeah apple gets caught
selling your information from your
iPhone like a very different very
different headlight like when if they
would sell like your searches to like
some other trillion dollar search
company like that would be crazy crazy
secretly it would be crazy but it's yeah
Google yeah Adam though I think that
that was a pretty Salient point about
the fact that it is literally
screenshots that's something people can
understand if they if they were not
showing the physical screenshots and
they were taking them behind the scenes
but like not showing them just scraping
them and then deleting them
automatically and just saying like we're
taking the context off of your computer
so you can just search things I don't
think people would be freaking out as
much as the idea that it's literally a
screenshot that you can like View
um even though it's the same thing seems
too easy yeah yeah they should have
explained it a different way they should
have just not exped scen AI is doing it
all see the screenshots when you the
semantic computer vision to
reconstruct previous iterations of your
activity pixel by pixel to understand
how to help you in the
future higher Mar taking a screenshot
fantastic and and Tech nerds would have
found that out and made articles anyway
but it would have made less headlines
than Microsoft going yeah we're taking
screenshots every 5 Seconds what you're
doing it is funny that like all these
features that we have been saying for
literally decades that would be really
amazing to have that are in all these
Sci-Fi movies and all this kind of stuff
now that we're actually starting to come
to terms with them existing we're
realizing how terrifying they all are
have you ever seen
her you haven't freaking watch that
movie I did watch D I know I was like
you didn't you didn't watch d last night
you sent me a picture of you not
watching Dune no I sent you a picture of
me turning on the 1984 version of Dune
wow just up until the title card and
then one other weird floating guy you I
didn't why did yeah you could have
watched her you could have watched her
didn't watch anything why you guys
boycotting this movie right now I'm not
boycotting it I'm have a six-month-old
it's hard to watch movies do not have
the time someday anyway flights coming
up I feel like recall is like the
computer version of Google photos search
like what is my license plate Google's
doing this in photos and everyone's fine
but I'm taking the photos in Google
that's a h yeah Microsoft is taking the
photos on this imagine the differ if
Google photos was always taking a shot
of whatever my camera was seeing every 5
seconds I would not trust that anymore
that was thing gole the pendant feature
or whatever oh the recall pendant that's
cuz no one believed that was ever going
to work were you going to bring up the
the new project the maps feature that
you can just open Google Maps and see
every single place you've ever been and
for how long yeah I find that awesome
location I'm more okay with just like my
pin being so like I guess I I shouldn't
say okay but I know it's happening
there's just something more about like
seeing what I'm doing every no no no I
agreed look at my screen yeah it feels
like Google Google knowing that much
about where I've been is equally creepy
but somehow it's less creepy than like
screenshots of my screen all the time
yeah like if my Android phone was like
not only do I know that you were in this
city but here's what you were doing on
your phone at that moment I'd be more
weirded it's always the things that are
like not at the Forefront of your screen
that are the most damaging like I don't
know if you've ever been like making a
video and you need to like screen record
your browser and when you open fire
it'll be like 16 pages that it thinks
you might want to go to and one of them
is like
ooh yeah yeah one of them is you leaving
a bad review on doing the movie and you
don't want anyone to know that so hey
thanks for watching this clip wait wait
wait before before you go before you go
this is actually an unskippable Clips
outro so you you can't skip to the end
so we'll make it pretty short but just
wanted to say make sure you subscribe
and uh watch other relevant videos yeah
generally uh there is a skip button in
the bottom right corner and generally
the retention of a video when you start
to say okay so that's it just that's
when a plumet but you're not leaving
you're not
because this one is unable yeah we
changed the code yeah you can't actually
even move the playhead anymore you just
have to suffer through it with us should
we let them go now no couple more
seconds it's unskippable they can't do
anything they can't leave true what can
we do to like make them like And
subscribe just want to make sure they've
hit the Subscribe button I'm just like
looking through their computer real
quick just to make sure oh sorry at
12:47 p.m. you were why were you looking
at that are you looking through
screenshots yeah I mean storting PL text
so bro get out of their screenshots man
that's it's a little invasive I mean I
am their administrator Marquez Microsoft
said it was okay so you know all right
well as long as they subscribe we're
good mom said it was okay cool thanks
Mom bye bye
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oh
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