Microsoft-Owned LinkedIn Using People’s Data to Train Artificial Intelligence Models

The professional networking platform automatically opted user accounts into training generative AI models but said there is an opt-out setting for members.

The LinkedIn app displayed on a cellphone in London on Jan. 11, 2021. Edward Smith/Getty Images

Professional networking platform LinkedIn has confirmed that it automatically uses personal user data to train artificial intelligence (AI) models without first informing its members.

The California-headquartered company said in a Sept. 18 blog post that it has updated the privacy policy element of its terms of service to include language clarifying how it uses the information shared with it “to develop the products and services of LinkedIn and its affiliates, including by training AI models used for content generation (‘generative AI’) and through security and safety measures.”