Still editing Maggie. Mad respect to Stephanie, our editor, for sticking with this and seeing the potential there, because right now I’m slightly embarrassed at having turned in such crappy draft before.
Onto more important matters.
Microsoft snuck AI into the latest version of Word. By default Microsoft sits there and scans all of your documents. Everything you write. They are supposedly doing this through Connected Experiences.
Connected experiences that analyze your content are experiences that use your Office content to provide you with design recommendations, editing suggestions, data insights, and similar features. For example, PowerPoint Designer or Translator.
I have seen several people recommending turning these Connected Experiences off because now they are being used to train the AI. Microsoft really doesn’t want the user to turn these off. They buried it pretty far in the Options menu and they attached a whole bunch of functions to them. In some cases, turning them off may prevent you from printing.
Here is a list of everything Connected Experiences supposedly does. Please make your own judgement.
If you choose to turn them off in the MS Word, go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Uncheck Connected Experiences.
If you have additional information, please share in the comments. Just saying “Yes, Microsoft is doing this” or “Microsoft is not doing this” is not enough. I, too, would like to have the definitive answer on this issue, so if you know more and can link a document from Microsoft definitively stating that this is false, we would all sleep easier.
And that is my PSA for today.
If I said everything I’m thinking about Microsoft using my writing to train that AI, Mod R would have to delete my post for obscenity.
They have the entire Internet to train that … THING. But now they’re ripping off professional writers and business people? But then, Adobe is using Photoshop and Illustrator to do the same thing to artists. Now they’re bleeding customers. It’s like your bank stealing your money.
Yeah. I have turned off AI for any of the browsers I use. I work in a Public Library. I do not want AI results. I need to cite sources for the answers I find!
Thank you for the info.
My two cents: this type of technology is literally the next evolution of humanity. If we were Neanderthals, it’d be Homo sapiens. However, even with all of the books/movies/shows that point to how awful AI can be, there examples that point to how amazing it can be; think of Data from Star Trek. That’s where we can choose to take this technology.
Next, remember that technology has never *not* advanced. So, we (as humans) need to make an effort to teach it how to be kind. We need to teach it where we struggle and how we overcome those struggles, so that it may grow into the best version of humanity was a whole. That being said, when artists (including authors because literature is art) are in the process of creating, privacy IS important. Maybe contact Microsoft and see what they have to say.
I know Khan Academy Kids has an AI course that it’s using to help teach young children about AI so that can better navigate it as it moves into all the aspects of our lives, so I’m learning right along with my kids.
Historically, when the printing press made books widely available, when the radio came out, when television made it’s way into our homes, and then all of the internet did it’s thing, many were afraid of the chaos it would sow. Now they’re staples in our lives.
People will abuse all things. It takes the kind people, the good people, to help outweigh those who will use such things for evil.
TLDR: It’s a complicated situation and it may be worth contacting Microsoft to ask your questions.
P.S. Rough drafts are just to get the story on paper, if you were able to turn it over to your editor that means you accomplished the purpose of the rough draft! Please do not feel embarrassed for creating art. Your books helped me make it through my depression, and I know others that feel the same. You’ve created such an amazing team and I look forward to any and all of your next books.
Live well. <3
For Mac its Word-> Preferences ->Privacy-> Connected Experiences
…ugh. Thanks for the heads-up.
On MAC:
Word/Preferences/Privacy/Manage connective experiences
then unclick everything
I cannot believe the level of entitlement.
oh jeez, sorry for the repeat!
My work’s office 365 had it enabled. If you’re in the web-based Office, go to Word –>File –> Info –> Privacy settings. You should see a box to uncheck connected erxperiences.
Thank you for the PSA! I work with human-derived materials so HIPAA is a concern. When I checked my work computer this morning, I found that Connected Experiences was on in MW Word and Outlook. I have alerted my departmental IT. This is a serious potential breach of patient identifying information and privacy.
Regards,
Cheryl
Research Specialist
UW-Madison
Much like Photoshop is always like, “are you sure you wouldn’t like to save this project to our cloud? Are you SURE??? Maybe we’ll just keep a little copy over here anyway just in case… no, give it back!!!”
Big fan of Scrivener for writing—hope they never integrate AI. I stopped using word when it became a subscription thing.
Wow! Thank you for the information. It is more important then many people realize.
Insidious!
Well, law firms best be careful because we have a huge duty of confidentiality.
Off to let my lawyers know.
Thanks for the PSA
I just unchecked it. I can’t believe my computing services department didn’t catch this. We do biomedical research and there’s a lot of HIPPA stuff that doesn’t need to be available for Microsoft to farm.
😡 thanks for sharing.
Might want to update with the instructions for MacOS – it’s not under file, it’s under preferences on the main menu. There are multiple things to uncheck. Some earlier comments have the path to use.
Thank you. As we have students in our house that write essays that are not allowed to use any AI we totally appreciate this option. Allow though I doubt that a Chemistry research paper, college level, would not be affected these are chances not to be taken. Nor would college bound seniors want there admission essays helped by the AI. They are specifically not allowed to use AI.
You can find it more easily in Word. Choose File/Account/Manage Settings. The Manage Settings button is where it says Account Privacy.
Personally, I find it useful enough that I’m not worried about Microsoft having access to my data. They have very strict policies in place about what can be done with it and who can access it (mostly no-one).
Thank you 🙂
I still have the 1993 version of Word that came on a disc. I am never giving it up!
omg thank you so much. i was already annoyed that i had to subscribe to edit older documents. good looking out
So I went down the Microsoft rabbit hole and I found this document where they list all the instances that Connected Experiences provide and there is a caveat box about student or corporate accounts, but it’s still gosh-awful to read and feels very loop-holey. NB: One may have to set this separately for the Microsoft Edge browser. Sigh just when you think humanity can’t stoop any lower, it’s this hard to just not have robots munching your private data.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-apps/privacy/connected-experiences#connected-experiences-that-download-online-content
Thanks so much for this, Ilona! For those of us whose professional work involves working with really sensitive information (including genetic and relationship details), information security and privacy are paramount and these latest developments with the Office suite are worrying.
Have signposted a number of people to your article, so it’s helping many learn and navigate this as soon as possible!
Wow that is deeply buried. Thank you! I don’t want my writing to train anyone’s AI to mimic my writing.
Thank you to all who answered how to disconnect this thing from the Mac version!
Thank you!
MS Office tip, MS Word is the “master application” for MS Office. Settings changed there affect the entire suit. (Other than settings unique to Word.)
You still need to go into the other MS Office suite applications if you want to modify settings unique to those applications.
This is actually not true. This nonsense has been going on for a few days. There is a zero percent chance Microsoft is using customer data for AI training. Since it’s written right there on the contract. So, if they did big corporations around the world would sue them left and right.
If you have more information regarding this, as in you can point to a statement by Microsoft that says they are not doing it, please link it.
I recommend YouTube as a place to start to learn about all these issues. I discovered this trove of assistance when my linux operating system busted and I decided to get a cheap windows. It had been years since I had a windows unit. I was shocked to learn that NOW the laptop insisted I sign into a ms account in order to access the web and to download. MS wanted to control all of my actions and choices, and this was months prior to the recall thing. On youtube I learned how to disable the account, the s mode, and it took hours. I felt angry. And I was never certain.
So I dug deep into my pocketbook and went back to Linux. You can locate companies that sell linux based ready to go laptops and desktops. It is defiantly not as easy imo as windows but can be similar to operate, but for now I know my computer is MINE. There are pros and cons. Pricing. If I may there is a US based company System76 you can check out on youtube. There are others.
And imo when you look at what is happening with *required* mobile phone apps, tracking, voice and face monitoring, the cloud, employment HR companies putting all your information into the cloud, medical companies same, and all smart appliances in your home all tied to the internet of things, from your thermostat knowing how many people are there and where, to the cameras people love to install (inside the house! I don’t get it), to vehicles installed with unavoidable apps going beyond selling your info, your habits, your errors, to your insurance company, facial recognition, surveillance…. Something to think about
I don’t hear any voices raised in concern on any political or gov platform in the United States
Thank you, Stephanie! Maggie is going to be So Good!!!
Thank you for sharing this information. D.Duane shared it on Tumblr. I checked my MS Office, I have a MSLive and the actually software downloaded, and it was running in the background. Turned it all off and blasted this like out to all my friends, family, and coworkers. My coworker and I host a writing group at our Library and I will let our various attendees know as many of them are writing books and short stories.
Make your own decisions but here’s the general Microsoft page on it. Does sound like it could be a privacy issue… The AI part is a bit unclear.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-apps/privacy/connected-experiences-content
…
To perform their function to help you accomplish a task, some connected experiences analyze content that you’ve created. Common examples include translating text in a document, checking spelling in an email, or suggesting design changes to a presentation.
…
Most connected experiences don’t retain your content after performing their function to help you accomplish a task, but there are a few exceptions. In those cases, Microsoft retains the content for as long as your account exists and it’s used to support, personalize, or improve that connected experience. While it’s retained, the content is encrypted. For more information, see Securing content used by a connected experience.
…
The following connected experiences use machine learning services:
Analyze Data
Editor
Immersive Reader
Ink to Test, Ink to Shape, Ink to Math
Live captions & subtitles
PivotTable recommendations
Suggested replies
Tap
Text predictions
Transform to Web page
Important
These machine learning services are not used for the purposes of profiling you or for the purposes of targeting advertising at you.
Microsoft is committed to the responsible use of machine learning. For more information, see Responsible AI.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/responsible-ai
Boy, howdy! They did, indeed, bury it deep. Thanks for sharing.
For those who mentioned Google Docs: https://support.google.com/docs/thread/232015063/how-do-i-opt-out-of-google-labs-for-generative-ai-search?hl=en#:~:text=Hi%2C-,To%20opt%20out%20of%20Google%20Labs%20AI%20everywhere%2C%20open%20a,browser%20and%20restart%20your%20computer.
specifically: To opt out of Google Labs AI everywhere, open a Google Docs document and go to Tools > Opt out of Labs. Then clear the cache in your browser and restart your computer.
So… i took a peak at your release schedule and got kind of dissapointed, what brings me to the following question. You most certainly know your numbers better than any of us, having said that, is it wise to have your only project be 2 years out and an unknown untested seller?.
Hi Apolo,
The Release Schedule only lists projects that are set in stone, and officially confirmed. Not the totality of all projects in plan.
There will be releases in the next 2 years before Maggie comes out 🙂. She is contracted for by a traditional publisher and there’s an official deadline. The other works will probably be self-published and on a more relaxed timetable 🙂
Hope that helps.
Oooo, the plot thickens.
Just my two cents’ worth:
I’ve been using Open Office or Libre Office for all my personal files, as well as work-related records, instead of anything Micro for the last 20 years. Both work as well as or better than the M-word; have excellent features; and They Don’t Cost Any Money, let alone monthly subscription fees.
Because I’ve worked in a law office the past dozen years, I have to upload invoices to the State of Alaska in Excel. Libre Office converts text documents as well as spreadsheets back and forth seamlessly.
I can’t stand to end this note without mentioning how much I’ve been in love with your work since stumbling across one of the Edge novels in 2008. I cringe to think of any amorphous Corporate phantom peeking over your shoulders; training to forge any particle of your writers’ voices –as though you could be synthesized via any amount of spying. Good vibes & best wishes!!!
System engineer here- you may also want to turn off Copilot if you’re using a Windows OS.
Go to Settings > Personalization.
Now scroll down and select Taskbar.
Toggle off Copilot.
I recently updated from a 13 year old MacBook Pro to a shiny new MacBook Air for work. I had to as Safari & Chrome quit providing security updates, making telehealth noncompliant with HIPAA. I asked an Apple expert about transferring my MS Office, specifically for my jargon trained dictation (I’m disabled and dictation is a necessity. Buying Dragon Medical is ridiculous.) I was told not to, it would likely cause problems with the OS. He assured me modern dictation learns quickly. (Sigh) It can’t figure out possessives! Training jargon is tedious.
However, Pages has far less intrusive tracking software and AI. I looked it up. Very modern iPhones, iPads, & Macs have the ability to have “Apple Intelligence.” It’s very new, only available on machines set to US English, and easy to enable/disable. Regardless if you are forced to use MS Suite on Mac for work, or you use something else, if you have to contend with HIPAA, you might wish to turn it off. This is how:
“Just navigate to the Apple icon Menu, click System Settings, and find the Apple Intelligence toggle under Apple Intelligence & Siri.” Toggle on or off.
Pages easily resaves documents to word to send to PC’s. I’m sticking with it, Safari, and DuckDuckGo. Best wishes!
Idk about word, but some voice to text learns your accent and pronunciation to more accurately transcribe your dictation. Don’t know if that’s helpful or not.
Apparently Microsoft came right out to address this specific rumor / concern in a tweet a few days ago.
https://x.com/Microsoft365/status/1861160874993463648
I write books about Microsoft Office and bought 2024 Home & Office edition so I could write my latest books. Realized when I got to the end of the beginner book for Excel that I had to turn on connected experiences in order to access Help.
First time that’s been necessary as far as I can recall. Very annoyed to have to leave it on while I write these books but I like to point people to certain help topics for more info. You can still search for the same info on their website, but it adds extra steps. So obnoxious.