Slack users horrified to discover messages used for AI training

Slack has been under fire for its unclear data usage policies following the launch of Slack AI. Users expressed concerns after discovering that Slack's privacy principles seemingly allow the use of customer data, including messages and files, to train AI models. Despite Slack's claims on their AI page that customer data is not used for training, the policy's language led to confusion and calls for clearer guidelines.

In response to the backlash, Slack announced plans to update its privacy principles to clarify that customer data is not used to develop or train large language models (LLMs) or other generative AI technologies. These updates aim to reassure users that their data remains within Slack's control and is not shared with third-party LLM providers, addressing some of the user concerns but not all, particularly regarding the lack of explicit consent for data sharing.