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SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY Meta has said that it will start using publicly available content from European users to train its artificial intelligence models.
The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, as well as popular messaging app WhatsApp, said it would train its AI systems using public posts and comments shared by adult users in the EU.
“People’s interactions with Meta AI — like questions and queries — will also be used to train and improve our models,” the company said in a blog post.
Meta is making the move after launching its Meta AI assistant last month for European users, long after it rolled out to the US and other major markets.
Earlier this month, the AI chatbot became visible for many Irish users on their WhatsApp. It is also being rolled out to Facebook Messenger. The chatbot was previously said to have been trained only by users’ interactions with said chatbot, while now its resources for training has expanded out to publicly available content shared outside of this.
The company said it will not use private messages to train its AI model and repeated its point that it is following the example of rivals Google and OpenAI, “both of which have already used data from European users to train their AI models”.
Meta said it will start notifying users in the EU about the training, and will include a link to a form where they can object at any time.
“We’ll honour all objection forms,” the company said.
The AI’s training by use of publicly posted content was previously hindered by concerns within the EU regarding users’ data privacy.
Social media site X, which has its own AI tool Grok, had an investigation launched last week into its methods of training the AI by use of users’ data by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission.
The inquiry’s purpose is to determine whether the personal data Grok used to train was lawfully processed, the DPC said, and will examine its compliance with GDPR and issues of transparency and lawfulness in its training.
Includes reporting by Press Association
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Take the 14 billion and build affordable houses for all. While we need jobs from companies like Apple, if we don’t solve this housing crisis, the country will go down the drain… AGAIN.
@DaisyMay: 14.3 billion Euro and the only thing stopping us from using it is our own government, you can’t make this scheiss up. They want to give back a windfall of 14.3bn while we all owe 42k each. Who exactly does our government work for, it’s own people or foriegn corporations who have no social conscience? If this doesn’t cause FG support to take a big hit, I’ll lose a lot of faith in humanity.
@Patrick Kearns: You’ll lose even more faith when EU countries have the hand out. Ireland wont get to keep much of that money at all. Brace yourself.
@Patrick Kearns: to right.
FG work for in the following order.
1. The billionaires in international finance.
2. The millionaires in Ireland.
3. The European Elite.
4. Themselves…..
..
10. Crumbs for the Irish people.
@angryDuck: spot on
@Patrick Kearns: The government is a corporation and people are just slaves to the rotten system……off course they are in denial they done a sweet heart deal with them as they are all in bed together period…..
This money should be used to pay off some of the national debt currently at €201 billion and rising.
@DaisyMay: ‘build affordable housing for all’….. like you mean build a house for every person in the state.grand I will sell the house I worked hard for and paid full market value for and wait around for all these new houses to be built.
@Clifford Brennan: So what, that’s only the right thing to do. Our governments colluded to steal that out of the public purses of other nations and to pay it back to them is all the more reason to accept the money.
@John: Being a dog in the manger is just sour grapes and in the long run only serves to perpetuate these situations where you fear being made to feel like a fool for buying in to government lies. The affordable housing scheme under FF was diluted by the greed of developers who reduced the amount of house available to the scheme in each development. Your point of view isn’t unreasonable but it only serves to exacerbate social inequality and a divided society is very unhealthy. United we stand, divided we fall. Look at the UK and the US and you’ll see what division gets you.
@Patrick Kearns: so by buying my own house I ‘ bought into government lies’….. no it’s not, I bought my own house because I worked hard and wanted to live in a half decent area and raise my family in an area that I wanted to live in.this social utopia that you talk about does not work because if you give people Good dole, great benefits and a nice house in a nice area well then nobody will do the heavy lifting because we would all do that or just the very basic work.
There is only one reason I went back to college and study hard was because I wanted better things in life, if I could have got these things without college and working harder than people around me well then I would have not.
@lochinvar56: I never said I was the only one to buy my own house. There are hundreds of thousands of people like me getting on with our lives and paying our own way. The thing is when any solution is brought forward to try solve the housing crisis it always shot down. People want a 3/4 bed house with front and back garden in the area of their choice.
@John: I do not support unfettered liberalism, you’re reading ideas in to what I’ve said that simply aren’t there. What I would support is a balanced society that works for all and policy that improves life and eradicates poverty. There is so much waste in world through incompetence and greed that to say this is achievable us lazy thinking. We only live in the system we do because of this lazy thinking. We have ability to redesign society in a way that brings balance and stability, the only reason not to is because those who benefit have a vested interest in keeping the damaging status quo we live in as it is.
I commend you you for educating yourself. Eduction is the greatest financial investment anyone can make. Personal, corporate of government, putting money in to education has the highest financial return. How anyone in government doesn’t know this and puts education at the forefront of national investment is beyond me. We have clowns running the show and so long as we do, we’ll continue this downward spiral in to division and violence.
@John: and ‘ build a bridge’…. I would most likely have to pay full market value for the bridge. Most people in here would like it built for them…;)
@John: get real John. Most people want to work and buy houses etc.
It is only a very very small proportion that “work the system” to get what they can. Just because there are a small proportion of scrounges is not good reason not to have a good system that helps everyone get a start at a home.
Just because you bought your own home (as did I) does not mean nobody else needs help to do so.
Mass homelessness is surely a far worse prospect.
@Patrick Kearns: agreed100%.
@John: but, here’s the thing, a lot of people work hard, yet still don’t earn enough to be able to get on the property ladder, the average income that gets bandied about every Budget, is a myth.
@john doe: I have absolutely no problems with the state giving people help, but when you get to the meat and bones of the help that some people want you realize that it’s a lot more help than you first realized.you only have to look at the comments in this place to give you an idea of things. Everything is shot down unless it’s exactly what they want.
@Andrew Giles: I understand that,when I started out I was on crap money, so are most people. I realized that I needed to make some changes and do something about it myself or I would stay washing dishes in a hotel all my life.life has so far passed me by very quickly and I am glad I did what I did,if I had stayed doing what I was doing I would have been waiting till now for a house.
@John: Thank you John, you help me keep faith in humanity. We all need to know that everyone holds their opinions because of personal experience and as such that all opinions are valid. I think if we can all hold that idea in our heads and give reasoned consideration to others while putting our points across in a clear respectful manner, we can solve pretty much anything. This is the internet and so much nuance is lost through the impersonal anonymity of it, I apologise if I ever come across as a d*ck.
@lochinvar56: so they pay money for rent out of money they are handed in dole.so in most people’s language. A free house…. but you keep convincing yourself it’s not.
@DaisyMay: that 14 bn isn’t all ours. Wait till the claims come in.
@John:
Have you not considered the reality that the vast number of those in need of social housing are working hard, doing jobs that reflect their best ability? Not verybody has the opportunity to go back to education. Not everybody has the academic ability to return to education at third level. There are numerous other genuine reasons why people are in need of social housing. Count yourself lucky. Wake up to the reality that one size shoe doesn’t fit all.
Those that abuse the system are only a tiny minority.
@James Joseph Superior Power: usual answers. Only a small minority abusing the system, no its not.and this business of count yourself lucky, there was no luck involved it was hard work and determination going to college 3 nights a week for 4 years and working at the same time.and then 10 years later going back to college for 2 years at night.i had to do education the hard way because I made stupid decisions when I was younger.we all make our own luck.
@JWill: I am not saying there should be no social/ affordable housing but when you look at this site and other social media sites you realize that a lot of the people complain about the suggested areas mentioned or the build types or the fact that too many are grouped together or everything suggested unless it’s 100% what they want.
@John: ” Good dole, great benefits and a nice house in a nice area” where is that? please point it out. You are simply speculating but you speak it like it is the truth.
@Patrick Kearns: its better to take higher taxes from the middle class and let multinationals pay less. Fair is fair like…
@John:
” Only a small minority abusing the system, no, it’s not”
YES IT IS. The reason it is the usual answer is because it is the correct answer.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/monthly-employment-rate-now-lowest-since-may-2008-840239.html
Not lucky hard work. Well let’s give you a medal, Thousands of people work hard, and are/have determination going to college 3 nights a week for 4 years and working at the same time. And then 10 years later going back to college for 2 years and still can’t afford a home of their own. Again, not everybody has the opportunity to return to education. You obviously did. Not everybody has the academic ability for third level education. You obviously had. No amount of hard work will ever change that. You are lucky.
@Patrick Kearns: Yawn yawn yawn
Just to clarify the misinformation that is doing the rounds on this €14bn. If the ruling is against Apple the money will be due to countries all across Europe with only a small amount going back into the Irish tax system. The article stating that the money is due to Ireland is referring to Ireland having to collect the money and share it appropriately.
@Andy Dwyer: Just to clarify the misinformation that is doing the rounds on this regarding paying other countries…. This is not the case. Under current systems this money is due to Ireland. Do not believe the FG SPIN
@Andy Dwyer: And yet not one country has expressed an interest in doing so since the ruling was made..besides even if they do a percentage of something is still better than nothing at all…
@Andy Dwyer: Even if that’s the case, it is only fair and it’s hugely immoral for our government to collude with Apple to steal tax dollars out of the public purses of other nations and all the more reason to accept the 14.3bn and pay it out to where it’s due.
@Patrick Kearns: exactly, if this was true it would even be more immoral.
Not only would FFG be denying Irish people of tax due but also other European peoples.
@Andy Dwyer: correct
@Andy Dwyer: that is all the more reason to collect it Andy.
Another good reason to collect it is the €143,000,000 + annual interest it would accrue to the benefit of this state until such time who owes what is figured out.
A few years ago, after the crash, I owed the revenue 700euro. I got absolutely harassed for a meezy 700euro to a point of loosing sleep.
13 billion, na, don’t needed, sickening, absolutely sickening.
Apple should be told, thanks for that, we’ll build some affordable housing.
God FG boil my blood.
@angryDuck: If you owe them €10 thousand they bring you to court, if you if you owe them €100 million they bring you for lunch.
@nick_d: if you don’t pay €160 for aTV license, they can send you to jail
@angryDuck: why did you owe money to Revenue? Were you not paying your taxes? What do you mean by “harassed”?
@angryDuck: PS….if it was a “measly” 700 euro why didnt you just pay up?
@Ricardo Shillyshally:
Seriously? Were you around 10 years ago? Many, many a business went to the wall, due to no fault of their only, because of what happened to the economy.
I had zero in my business bank account, thousands in unpaid invoices and revenue calling me twice weekly for about 700euro.
Stop being such a pleb!
@angryDuck: sounds like BS to me….I’ve never heard of the Revenue ringing people….they write to people who have not paid their taxes. I thought that it was illegal to be “harassed” by phone.
@Ricardo Shillyshally: I’ve lived it bud. You do not know what you are talking about.
Poor Apple, actually having to pay taxes, it’s not as if they are a trillion dollar company or anything and Ireland trying their best like an old granny to say they want to pay instead
@The PURGED:… What did they do extra for apple in comparison to say…. ….google, Pfizer, IBM or Johnson & Johnson ?
@Siobhàn Malone: You’re right, how many tax dollars have been siphoned off shore and out of the public purses of other countries because of these corrupt sweetheart deals…? It’s saddening to think of what it’s cost in terms of services and infrastructure, we have parasites running the country.
@Patrick Kearns: then again we are living in a corrupt country
“We need to increase taxes!” “We don’t need your 14 billion Apple”
Jesus wept
I’ll have my 3 grand in 5euro notes please so I can do a Scrooge McDuck style dive into it
U couldn’t make this up only in Ireland
The department of finance is appealing the decision on the grounds there was no sweet heat deal ,if it looks like a duck ,waggles like a duck, and quacks like a ducks ,chances are its a duck .now take it and spend it on ,housing ,health and childcare .
@Anthony Gallagher: Wash your mouth out, FFG would never do dodgy deals…
Now let’s give it all away to European banks because Brussels told us to do so!!!!!
Straight to the comments on this one
Don’t you love the way someone won a tender to operate a bank account. I wonder how many palms were greased and how much it cost the taxpayer, for that little bit of trickery?
So good people of Ireland, it would appear that the department of finance cannot operate a bank account. And when it is operated for them, they don’t want the money. Only in this little banana Republic!
SHUT UP MINISTER AND TAKE IT…….JESUS CHRIST WILL THESE LADS NEVER LEARN.
@Graham Light: stop shouting, it’s European money
I AM NOT SHOUTING, I AM PARTIALLY DEAF.
They won’t win they should just accept the money and start figuring out how much is for Ireland.
Fake news and terrible misinformation. That money is not owed to Ireland. Its owed to a number of countries of which Ireland receives a portion
@Michael Glasheen: facts are not welcome in this story. The people in here have already spent it.
@Michael Glasheen: Can you prove your statement. Links or anything?
@Michael Glasheen:
lies, the money is owed to this country only.
@John: Come on then John – can you prove Michael’s “factual” statement?
@sixmile: The Commissioner who brought this case against Ireland gave it as her opinion that the money was owed to different EU countries in proportion to sales. The EC will decide that issue unless it decides that we did no special favour to Apple over any other multinational which is our position. The tax arrangements are complex and will be trashed out at length.
@Brendan Greene: apple sells phone to customer in Paris.
Profit of phone sold in Paris goes to `Irish` company apple.
Tax on profit, albeit low, goes to Irish gov’t.
EU says sweetheart deal as tax too low. Orders apple to pay Ireland correct tax on the phone that was sold in Paris.
What people are saying is that this tax should be paid to the country the phone was sold in, not to Ireland.
Journal readers are notorious for giving out about u2 and the Holland tax stuff. Yet they also want all the tax of the European countries too for stuff sold in European countries because they decided to base here and provided thousands of jobs and income tax here.
Pick one argument or the other but don’t pick them both!
If the incompetent, overpaid politician doesn’t want it, I’m sure there are plenty other people who’d take it.
Why don’t you illustrate whether taking the tax or not would convey legal precedent on government future policy!!?… therefore we could lose out long term…this is the real question??
@White Rhino: If we lose out long term on this, it’s because we don’t have proper tax policy that would allow our country to operate without the fear of losing a huge portion of tax revenue to corporations with zero social conscience. Successive governments have given these corporations huge leverage to dictate tax deals and now we’re in a position that if just one of ten of these corporations were to lave Ireland, we’ll be up the creek with no paddle. We need a more stable and sustainable tax base that doesn’t mean the wiggle room is screwing the small guy in the middle. One that provides for proper services and infrastructure.
@Patrick Kearns: If one of them leaves there’s a very real prospect of contagion and others taking flight too..all because the governments of the day put short term gain ahead of long term stability…
@John Ryan: I think brexit has made that less likely. They are not here just for the tax breaks.. which are not much better than they would get in any EU country… take the money.. build social housing and put some of it into building our own Irish industries… very few Irish startups get any assistance… put money into that.
FG just said in the Dail they will not build council houses only social houses and affordable houses FFS get them out
Council houses means good rental for the state
Shocking
@Jonathan Yeo: ‘Good rental for the state’….. it does not come near to what it costs.bring in some other argument, but don’t try that one.
@Jonathan Yeo: Good rental for the state? Between the price of the land and the cost to build it’ll take about 40 years just to pay that off.
A virtually bankrupt nation paying back €Billions in interest alone annually on bailout loans, refuses €14Billion in taxes owed by a $Trillion corporation.
Is this some kind of sick joke? FG are terrified of getting this money lest they may actually have to do something with it instead of playing the poor card all of the time.
TAKE THE MONEY AND DO SOMETHING FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ELECTED YOU !
Lets be clear here , Apple accepted thst they owed 14 billion in taxes, and have paid in full including interest, They are as compliant as any other company registered in Ireland .
The minister and revenue are the ones that need to be held accountable for their utter idiotic stance that they dont owe it.
If ever an issue should bring down this pathetic government its this , alas FF just dont have the balls to do the right thing
Take it and BUILD!!! ffs.
Unfortunately we’ll never see the benefit of that €14b on the street.
What did they do extra for apple in comparison to say…. ….google, Pfizer, IBM or Johnson & Johnson ?
@Siobhàn Malone: Yes, I’ll say it agin; you’re right, how many tax dollars have been siphoned off shore and out of the public purses of other countries because of these corrupt sweetheart deals…? It’s saddening to think of what it’s cost in terms of services and infrastructure, we have parasites running the country.
@Patrick Kearns:…. but are they (EU) looking at these other companies?
They should at least use the money for financial investments (gambling) until they give it all back in future tax breaks.
€14 BN Would go a long way to fund a Judicial reform and shore up the security of the country.
It is time to put a consequence back in operation for crime and antisocial behaviour.
@Ron: Poor policy that creates division in society is what causes crime. It doesn’t take throwing money in to an increasingly authoritarian judiciary to fix that, it takes socially responsible policy. For that you need actual ethical politicians who are competent at the job. We haven’t had very many of them in decades.
@Patrick Kearns:
what is the force driving this poor dividing policy do you think?
Is the hand of the European Union causing such brisk and unsettling social changes to the negative spectrum?
@Ron: It’s the idea that some people have that they are somehow better than others, that those with very little have only themselves to blame. This is driven by party politics that win votes by pandering to this illusion and furthering this division. There but for the grace of God go I should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, we are all only two steps from where we don’t want to be. The safest society is one with very little spread from the centre but to get there we need to figure out where the centre is. An analogy would be a pendulum, the further you pull it from the centre, when it inevitably loses momentum, it always swings to the other side. The safest thing for everyone is for the pendulum to be stopped in the centre or for the swing to be reduced to a point where it’s no longer destructive. I can’t claim to know where that centre is but I do know that we won’t get there by perpetually arguing that one side is right and the other is wrong. We need a reasoned debate between all extremes to find a place where we can all happily get along.
Any parties looking for a surefire way to win an election, here it is… Just takes one to say they will collect it and put it in to much needed infrastructure…
Social housing, affordable is too easy to manipulate.
@Chris OB: no, what you mean is affordable might actually cost people actual money.
@Chris OB: Good rental for the state? Between the price of the land and the cost to build it’ll take about 40 years just to pay that off.
If the government don’t want the people of Ireland should have it split amongst us all after all we are owed it
Just spend it on useful projects! Do it now!
They should invest half in the health services
@Mr Mystery: without massive reform, it will be swallowed without a trace with no perceivable benefit
The EU ruled that Apple owe Ireland €14.3 Billion + Apple pay the €14.3 Billion to Ireland + FG refuse to take €14.3 Billion = FG Hates Ireland
No excuses now!
Take the 14 billion. Ye weren’t long taken the money off us with Austerity measures. Give it to me if ye don’t want it. I could do with my own home a new car. Why are ye afraid of hurting Apples feelings?? It’s all about cahoots and being in the big mans pocket in this country.
Love reading the self loathing Irish on here! “Banana Republic” “only on Ireland” etc..they must cry each night due to being Irish.. we will give the tax back to apple lads no need to bother thinking of it, continue to exist in misery! Only good at complaining than doing anything! Let us big boys do the work.
They can wipe out USC now.
Gas they don’t want to take hold of enough money to change the health system. Watch how this money becomes unheard of very quickly and very quietly.
healthcare for all! or housing or a high-speed train or two or… nothing.
They took their bloody time, and it is owed, what is wrong with these idiots. The EU doesn’t take cases lightly, besides it’s a drop in the ocean in comparison to what Apple have made from the Irish economy.
It will cover about 1/6th of the next bank bail out..
Or 1/20th of the next Trade War or Brexit or Somebodys debt derivatives or Bitcoin collapse we get lumbered with..
It’ll take many, many years for this to be settled, whichever side obtains a favourable ruling. The EU are not renowned for their urgency. In the meantime, the State – the taxpayer – will pay a small fortune in legal expenses if it continues to challenge the EU state aid ruling.
People still seem to think that this €14.3 is unpaid taxes from Ireland….The mind boggles. Do you honestly think Apple sell enough iShit in Ireland to generate €14 billion in taxes?? The VAST majority of this money is from unpaid taxes in European countries. Ireland merely acted as a tax haven. Its not our money, never was…..get over it. The reason the government don’t want to claim it back is that it may scare away other multinationals from setting up in Ireland. You know, the ones that employ thousands of Irish people.
People on here really don’t get it, do they?
The €14.3Bn is the amount of tax Applease (allegedly) owe EUROPE. We just happen to be the collector of it on behalf of the EU. If it turns out that Apple do owe it, we have to hand it over. We don’t get to keep it even if Aplle owe it.
So there is nothing to spend here – on houses or anything else – and we’re bigger idiots for doing the EU’s bidding on this.
“THE STATE HAS chosen the financial institution that will hold onto the billions of euro in back taxes the EU Commission says Apple owes to Ireland.
The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch has been selected as the preferred bidder for the role by the National Treasury Management Agency.”
So the government have chosen a bank outside the Irish jurisdiction to hold this money in escrow accounts.
A bank headquartered in NYC, which will hold the funds in their London office.
This will be very interesting post Brexit, which will occur before the appeals are finalised.
You really could not make this stuff up !!!
Hold a referendum on the same day as the presidential election and let the people decide if it is owed to us or not
The money is to be lodged in an “escrow” account, whilst the appeals against the assessment trundles on. Whatever escrow means, the funds are under investment managers, so can presumably be invested meantime, & what better way than in state bonds, say 30 year term, for the public social housing generation fund. Repayable by the affordable mortgages plan of course.
Given Apples other international social funds, can’t see any problem with that.
Unless someone else wants to claim it, or insist that we pay off the EU banks for the enforced austerity bail out.
Let’s have a quick answer. Please.
Dumb ministers !!
What I don’t understand is : the Govt says Apple didn’t get State aid – and will this verdict by the EU affect Irelands 12.5% Corporation tax – and will the EU share the money with other EU countries? This is not transparent enough for Irish citizens.
have your say