sloth unleashed

This August, when Meta began allowing people to submit requests to delete personal data from third parties used to train Meta’s generative AI models, many artists and journalists interpreted this new process as Meta’s very limited version of an opt-out program. CNBC explicitly referred to the request form as an “opt-out tool.”

This is a misconception. In reality, there is no functional way to opt out of Meta’s generative AI training.

Artists who have tried to use Meta’s data deletion request form have learned this the hard way and have been deeply frustrated with the process. “It was horrible,” illustrator Mignon Zakuga says. Over a dozen artists shared with WIRED an identical form letter they received from Meta in response to their queries. In it, Meta says it is “unable to process the request” until the requester submits evidence that their personal information appears in responses from Meta’s generative AI.

...The tool, called Nightshade, is intended as a way to fight back against AI companies that use artists’ work to train their models without the creator’s permission.