Last week, a ResetEra user discovered that the new Gaming Copilot AI installed by Microsoft on all Windows 11 PCs (integrated directly into the Game Bar) was training itself by screenshotting every game played by the user and then sending everything back to Microsoft. Gaming Copilot is also enabled by default, so if you want to turn it off, you need to go to the Game Bar, and then to Settings and Privacy Settings, where you will find the option for Gaming Copilot to pull "Model training on text" or not.
Needless to say, this discovery sparked a big controversy on what several users felt was a highly intrusive feature sneakily introduced by Microsoft. Following the news, Tom's Hardware was able to get a statement from the company about what the AI actually does:
When you're actively using Gaming Copilot in Game Bar, it can use screenshots of your gameplay to get a better understanding of what's happening in your game and provide you with more helpful responses. These screenshots are not used to train AI models, and Gaming Copilot is an optional feature that only has access to gameplay when you're playing a game and actively using it. Separately, Gaming Copilot may use its text or voice conversations with players to help train and improve AI. Players can adjust Gaming Copilot's privacy settings by visiting 'Settings' in the Game Bar, followed by 'Privacy Settings.
The AI was first tested earlier this year on mobile devices, though the global rollout only started last month on both PCs and the Xbox mobile app. Microsoft introduced Gaming Copilot as a sidekick specifically designed for gamers. Using AI, it recognizes which game is being played and understands the user's Xbox activity, allowing it to answer questions about games the user is interested in, provide links to further information when its response includes web sources, and answer various questions based on the user's account, play history, and achievements. Essentially, it is a guide to the game, should the player need it. Of course, it should be entirely optional, and its training feature should be disabled by default to comply with privacy laws.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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