Remember Windows Recall, the Windows feature that would take a screenshot of your desktop every three seconds, stored them in a database, and then let you search through them at later dates? The feature has been hobbled by implementation problems, security issues, and privacy troubles, and has been released in preview and pulled since its original unveiling. Well, it’s back in testing now for users of the Release Preview Channel.
As you use your Copilot+ PC throughout the day working on documents or presentations, taking video calls, and context switching across activities, Recall will take regular snapshots and help you find things faster and easier. When you need to find or get back to something you’ve done previously, open Recall and authenticate with Windows Hello.
↫ Windows Insider blog
The “AI” magic (meaning, OCR and image recognition, but with 
sparkles) runs locally, on device, and supposedly, the collected screenshots and data extracted from them never leave your device – at least, for now. The tech industry has a long history of relegating its promises, so excuse me if I don’t have a ton of faith in this data remaining on a Windows PC for too long into the future.
Case in point, a related Windows Copilot feature: Copilot Vision. This is very similar to Windows Recall, but instead of taking automating screenshots every few seconds, you can invoke it manually so that Copilot will “read” the current contents of your desktop, applications, and so on, allowing you to ask questions, get help, and so on. The kicker, however, is that while the screenshots and resulting data from Recall supposedly remains on your machine, whatever Copilot Vision does is done on Microsoft’s servers. In other words, a feature very similar to Windows Recall is already sending your personal, private data to Microsoft.
I’m sorry, but I just don’t think Windows Recall will remain “on-device” for very long. The temptation to hoover that data up into the giant advertising machine is too great, and there’s no way in hell Microsoft will be able to resist it.
I was reading the other day that Instagram targets teenage girls with beauty adverts after they take a selfie, then delete it (without ever posting). This is because a girl who deletes a photo is more likely to think of herself as “unpretty” and more likely to buy those products….
When this is the advertising logic that’s used, I dare not think how “unintentionally” shared information on a computer or phone might be used and how pervasive it might become to people in a vulnerable state.
That is horrifying.
No. What’s really horrifying is the fact that if you ask them about that they would deny it – and wouldn’t even lie, at that!
All these things are not done by humans, these days, it’s done by neural networks that are looking on many factors and try to find some correlations.
If teenage girls that remove more photos than is typical for a teenage girls get more such ads then it means that these ads actually work… and whether that’s ethical thing to do or not… there’s no one in the loop to even ask that question, let alone answer it.
The issue is not that these tricks are used (they are very old, more than hundred years old), the issue is that NO ONE is looking for when they become abusive.
I feel a certain ‘thing’ rings true, no matter the generation.
However bad you thought it is… wait till you see the next thing.
It wont be long until the subliminals, 24/7 multicamera monitoring and product placement is permanent and unavoidable.
As I understand it, it already exists in certain countries and in certain ways.
But when the car color becomes ‘we’ll take 20% off your payment if you choose chameleon’ and it changes to the latest movie and plays a trailer whilst you drive. (Which is, of course, safe. Because self driving cars allow you to watch your neighboring car’s advertisement)
And the people in the movie have been changed to look familiar and inoffensive to you. The soundtrack is custom catered to your history. Your brain was scanned by the implant.
Decades ago a conspiracy. Now just.. perhaps inevitable.
Remember that scene in Minority Report?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bXJ_obaiYQ
Universal digital ID, programmable digital money and constant surveillance (for our safety of course) is nearly here. The pharaohs of this world have been telling us for a long time where they were going to take us.
Recall sounds really quite useful and I would love such a feature. It is just not worth anywhere near the privacy and security issues. I am glad I am not on an OS where these kinds of features can be delivered against my wishes.
Open Source has a bit of an advantage where I could almost see trusting such a feature if it had more transparency and control. However, even there the security issues are too great.
You could check out OpenRecall (https://github.com/openrecall/openrecall)
No, AI is not OCR and image recognition, but with sparkles. No amount of quotation marks will make it go away or reduce its profound impact, but if it makes you feel better, go for it.
I suggest talking to an AI about all this. It’s enlightening.
‘I suggest talking to an AI about all this. It’s enlightening.’
*shivers*
Perhaps the same advice appies to you then.
I have no idea what Copilot is using for its base, but it is not only the most inaccurate AI i have ever tried to use and i am old and have tried “predictive modeling” stuff in DOS. (aka i am old). Copilot just lies all the time, and pretends to be certain of what it states, and wont budge despite given the true facts. Ask it any non-controversial topic like the composition of salt reactors, instead of beryllium and flouride it starts talking nonsense about thorium reactors and how it is not safe or viable, despite salt reactors using uranium.
I thought one of the main features of these new chat bots was that they are only trained by their dataset so trolls couldn’t keep retraining them to say awful things. E.g. Microsoft Tay and a number of other ones. It is unsurprising they won’t budge
I’ve been using Windows daily for almost a quarter of a century, there was never any moment where I thought to myself “I’m sorry someone didn’t take screenshots of my activity”. Anyone with basic computer operating skills is more than capable of saving information worth saving.