Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com and Tumblr, has revealed that they are currently in negotiations to sell content on their platform to companies developing AI for data training. This process has been communicated to users by Automattic, emphasizing transparency.
Both WordPress.com and Tumblr have announced to users the shutdown of certain functions to prevent content from being used for AI training. The key issue here is that the platforms are attempting to prevent AI from extracting content already available. Additionally, the discussion of Automattic selling content directly to AI companies allows users the option to opt-out of having their public content used for training AI, with settings available on both WordPress.com and Tumblr.
If users choose to enable “discourage search” to prevent search engine bots from gathering data, it will also have the effect of preventing their content from being used for AI training.
Representatives from Automattic have stated that this approach is standard in the industry, and the company is providing users with the most options possible.
Source: Gizmodo and Automattic
TLDR: Automattic is in talks to sell content on their platforms for AI data training, with options for users to opt-out of having their public content used for this purpose. The company is implementing industry-standard practices to provide transparency to users.
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