It’s just you, ChatGPT, and your human reviewer
An investigation reveals that human contractors are reviewing ChatGPT conversations to improve AI model performance. Many users are unaware that their data may be accessed by humans, despite privacy settings that are enabled by default.
Why it matters
It raises significant concerns regarding user privacy, data retention, and the transparency of AI training processes.
TL;DR: It turns out that hundreds of human contractors could be reading your ChatGPT conversations in order to help improve the AI. Many users likely don’t know about this step—or how it works. It shows how much consumers are in the dark when it comes to AI data retention and utilization.
What happened: A stranger could be making upwards of $50 an hour to analyze your ChatGPT logs with a fine-tooth comb, per a new 404 Media investigation. The contractors, who work for Mercor —an AI data firm that suffered a major data breach this past spring—rate AI responses based on how well the chatbot fulfilled the user’s prompt (being sycophantic and using too many emoji is bad, for example).
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in