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Privacy AI

Your AI Girlfriend Is a Data-Harvesting Horror Show (gizmodo.com) 135

Posted by BeauHD from the robot-love-comes-with-tradeoffs dept.
"A lot of that AI chatbots that you spend days talking to push hard on getting more and more private information from you," writes longtime Slashdot reader michelcultivo, sharing a report from Gizmodo.

"To be perfectly blunt, AI girlfriends and boyfriends are not your friends," says Misha Rykov, a Mozilla Researcher from the company's *Privacy Not Included project. "Although they are marketed as something that will enhance your mental health and well-being, they specialize in delivering dependency, loneliness, and toxicity, all while prying as much data as possible from you." Gizmodo reports: Mozilla dug into 11 different AI romance chatbots, including popular apps such as Replika, Chai, Romantic AI, EVA AI Chat Bot & Soulmate, and CrushOn.AI. Every single one earned the Privacy Not Included label, putting these chatbots among the worst categories of products Mozilla has ever reviewed. You've heard stories about data problems before, but according to Mozilla, AI girlfriends violate your privacy in "disturbing new ways." For example, CrushOn.AI collects details including information about sexual health, use of medication, and gender-affirming care. 90% of the apps may sell or share user data for targeted ads and other purposes, and more than half won't let you delete the data they collect. Security was also a problem. Only one app, Genesia AI Friend & Partner, met Mozilla's minimum security standards.

One of the more striking findings came when Mozilla counted the trackers in these apps, little bits of code that collect data and share them with other companies for advertising and other purposes. Mozilla found the AI girlfriend apps used an average of 2,663 trackers per minute, though that number was driven up by Romantic AI, which called a whopping 24,354 trackers in just one minute of using the app. The privacy mess is even more troubling because the apps actively encourage you to share details that are far more personal than the kind of thing you might enter into a typical app. EVA AI Chat Bot & Soulmate pushes users to "share all your secrets and desires," and specifically asks for photos and voice recordings. It's worth noting that EVA was the only chatbot that didn't get dinged for how it uses that data, though the app did have security issues. [...]
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Your AI Girlfriend Is a Data-Harvesting Horror Show More

Your AI Girlfriend Is a Data-Harvesting Horror Show

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  • Correct link (Score:5, Informative)

    by test321 ( 8891681 ) on Wednesday February 14, 2024 @11:58PM (#64240740)

    "Happy Valentine’s Day! Romantic AI Chatbots Don’t Have Your Privacy at Heart" https://foundation.mozilla.org... [mozilla.org]

  • Like every other digital assistant, but worse (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 ) on Thursday February 15, 2024 @12:11AM (#64240764) Homepage

    Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri, they all collect all kinds of data on you.

    These digital girlfriends will do the same, except that they are run by even sleazier companies that nobody has ever heard of, and nobody is watching.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Dwedit ( 232252 )

      Like every other *online* digital assistant.

      The offline ones just haven't been made yet.

      • I still talk to my offline digital therapist Dr. Sbaitso. He really knows how to listen.

      • I can't imagine what use an offline digital assistant would be. Everything I use Google Assistant for, requires a connection, even if the assistant itself didn't require one. I ask it to do things like check game scores, or distance to a city, or the Guinness record for pole vaulting. In other words, random stuff that in most cases, an offline assistant wouldn't be able to answer. I suspect that the usefulness of an offline assistant would be quite limited.

        • Not a whole lot. Turn lights on n off. Turn off the forgotten stove. Lock up the house. If it had robots, then mow the lawn, take out the trash, etc. Which are all nice things but you can already buy a simple automation system to do everything but taking out the trash. Yes there are robot lawn mowers.

          • Even turning lights or stoves on and off, or locking locks, requires a connection. Perhaps not an internet connection, but these days, hardly anybody makes automation systems that don't connect to the internet.

            • They don't work on local net? I've looked into but never bought one. I thought these things are blue tooth and local WiFi or at least most have that option?

              • Yes, such options do exist, that use special-purpose wireless connections. But those options are quickly disappearing in favor of wifi-based systems..

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by Scoth ( 879800 )

                There's a handful of solutions that can be made to work entirely locally. Home Assistant is a smarthome control system that's very customizable and open source, and works completely locally. With some care in picking smarthome components you can get ones that don't require a cloud connection and work locally with an open API, but those can be few and far between for some use cases and there's been a few issues where companies have locked down/closed down their formerly open APIs or local endpoints on their

  • Can we *please* get an AI article? (Score:4, Funny)

    by iAmWaySmarterThanYou ( 10095012 ) on Thursday February 15, 2024 @12:33AM (#64240786)

    Seriously, this is an important technical and social concept with implications across the board for most of the world and it seems like we never get articles about it?

    Why do we ignore AI? We should get a chance to talk about it at least occasionally.

    Please front page some AI articles!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      You want more mindless and baseless hype?

      • Whoosh!

        Sorry, my bad, I forgot /. Is the home of a great many people on the spectrum. Apologies.

        To be clear for my spectrum dwelling fans, it was a joke. Not even a very subtle one.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          Sorry, it is getting really hard to tell who is sarcastic and who actually thinks this crap. Hence I asked. And no, I am not on any "spectrum".

        • When people read obviously-stupid statements online, their first reaction is usually not "oh, sarcasm, haha" but rather "oh wow, look at this idiot."

          It's part of our natural belief that we are smarter than everyone else. It "fits" that other posts would be written by idiots.

          It is even more difficult to detect sarcasm online since text removes tone-of-voice and body language hints that the message is sarcastic.

          Of course, on the flip side, when we write something sarcastic and someone takes it seriously, our

          • I didn't think he was stupid. I already apologized to him for mislabeling him.

            I figured by now "we have too many AI stories" had become a meme of sorts here which I incorrectly assumed meant everyone would understand my over the top plea for more AI stories would be taken as intended.

            My bad. Shrug.

    • >> Seriously, this is an important technical and social concept
      Nope. It is not.

    • Yeah, it takes away valuable screen real estate from the things we're really interested in, some more Dunning-Krugerrand scam reports.

  • Set up an account...or several...with these things and actively poison the data pool.

  • Wow (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mamba-mamba ( 445365 ) on Thursday February 15, 2024 @12:57AM (#64240808)
    She told me people would say stuff like this. They are so threatened by what we have together. But she really gets me, you know? It's like she knows me better than I know myself.

    • It's like she knows me better than I know myself.

      Don’t worry, after you pass on this will be used to continue your social media presence just like you never left. You can continue to make product recommendations to your living friends and relatives, which if you think about it really is the most important thing.

  • Pollution of the data is easy: I'm only interested in poker playing hermaphrodite lizards that are good at volleyball.

  • Sound like some a really bad idea.

    • note that she can't fetch you your beer

      • Or divorce you and take all your shit she did nothing to earn.

        • Re:It's like a subscription girlfriend that likes (Score:4, Insightful)

          by Smonster ( 2884001 ) on Thursday February 15, 2024 @09:29AM (#64241394)
          The trick there is to marry a woman who thrives with or without you, yet choose to be with you. Then treat her well enough for her to keep choosing to be with you. I have never been attracted to women who are pretty, but unambitious/lazy/dumb. I mean they might be a fun roll in the hay, but what do you think your children will be like with a woman like that?

          • I never wanted kids so for me that's moot but I get your point.

            I've found the best way to go is get the woman you think is good and live/move to a place that doesn't have common law marriage. I can treat her super well without fear that she'll leave anyway and take my shit with her. If I was wrong and she goes anyway that's fine, my losses are zero because things were good up until that moment then no further loss or risk. I had a few ~1 year gfs like that before this one (8+ years and going strong). Th

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by GlennC ( 96879 )

            The trick there is to marry a woman who thrives with or without you, yet choose to be with you. Then treat her well enough for her to keep choosing to be with you.

            This is sage advice. Unfortunately, it's too much of an effort for many of our fellow Slashdotters.

            They'd much rather piss and moan about how nobody realizes how much smarter than everyone they are.

  • This has a name (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TuringTest ( 533084 ) on Thursday February 15, 2024 @01:35AM (#64240852) Journal

    Digital toxic girlfriend

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Just wait until they fit it to one of those Real Doll things, and add micro transactions. Or more likely macro transactions.

      I saw an app in Japan that lets your virtual girlfriend walk around town with you. Ars just did an article about how the Vision Pro is no good for walking around outside, but they didn't count on virtual girlfriends.

      • Do I have to bring my own waifu pillow or is that included?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Teun ( 17872 )

        Ars just did an article about how the Vision Pro is no good for walking around outside, but they didn't count on virtual girlfriends.

        You thinks so?

  • who is she?

  • Yes but... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Thursday February 15, 2024 @04:54AM (#64241004)

    I'm a sad loner who seeks company in chatting with an AI companion for love. I don't think there's any value in my data at all or me at all. After all if I had confidence, money or any other value I probably would be talking to real people.

    • FWIW, while we disagree from time to time, I hardly think you are a sad loner. But as to your comment about having nothing to hide, please remember the line from Torquemada, "Give me 12 lines written by the most honest of men, and I shall find something (within) to hang them."
      Just because you think you have nothing worth knowing (or hiding) doesn't mean others feel the same way about your words.

    • I don't think there's any value in my data at all or me at all.

      If you have $5 in your pocket, you are worth hitting over the head to take it from you. If getting hit over the head and having resources taken from you has no negative value to you, you are indeed completely worthless... but I strongly suspect you would object, so take a look at that objection and find your worth.

      Or you can live life as a whiny asshole. Many people seem to do just that. :)

  • You can't trust those artificial gold-diggers. Don't date robots!

    Me personally, as long as my wife's AI boyfriend is still safe and trustworthy, I'm not worried.

  • the perils of shopping online (Score:4, Funny)

    by Walt Dismal ( 534799 ) on Thursday February 15, 2024 @05:03AM (#64241018)
    Oh. I had been wondering why, after I searched for info on hard drives, the Amazon bot asked me to message it a dick pic, and after that I got a lot of ads for Viagra. All I wanted was more storage dammit.
  • until these low ball shitty services get hacked and that wealth of knowledge becomes easy access.

  • My real GF Is a Data-Harvesting Horror Show (Score:3)

    by illogicalpremise ( 1720634 ) on Thursday February 15, 2024 @06:03AM (#64241082)

    Lately she's been drunk-dialing my friends on facebook. People I barely know or haven't spoken to in years are like "Why are you sending me a thumbs-up emoji?"

    • If you're serious, get out. Do not spend quality time with anyone who can't control themselves when near alcohol/drugs.

      And despite what these girls will tell you, there is nothing romantic about holding her hair while she throws up the last 5 drinks and whatever she was eating for the last 4 hours.

      • And despite what these girls will tell you, there is nothing romantic about holding her hair while she throws up the last 5 drinks and whatever she was eating for the last 4 hours.

        Well, now wait.....that depends.

        Did she blow you BEFORE she had to hug the toilet?

        And also...isn't it her girlfriends' job to hold her hair?

        ;)

        • No, she didn't. I was put off by the whole ugly experience and didn't touch her for a few days. Why did I do this for her? The alternative was driving her home getting her mess all over my car. She was one of the ~1 girls and was out entirely not long after.

          Yes her gfs should do this but we'd already left the party and I was stuck for it. It's an ugly world! Be careful out there!

  • I mean did anyone beside a maybe a teenager or lonely elderly man who also happens to be online, not see these for what they obviously are? I know that there are lots of suckers out there, but this has to be really low hanging fruit. On par with anyone who would send money to a “Nigerian prince”.

  • 24,354 "Trackers per minute" can't be right. The user doesn't generate data at 7 Hertz. I'd like to see the underlying methodology or data used for that.

  • When you're wearing a Fitbit (or Google Watch) and using Chrome, Google can correlate the timing of the two data streams to know precisely which website and which advertising makes your heart go pitter-patter. Watch videos with Youtube or Chromecast with a Fitbit, and they don't really need to ask if you're still awake, 'cause just like Santa Claus, they know when you are sleeping, they know when you're awake. They know if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.

    Of course, an Apple Watch with

  • If 'my' AI girlfriend only knew she was talking to another bot... its automation all the way down.

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