LinkedIn Silently Rolls Back Artificial Intelligence Prompts on Its Platform: Report

AI prompts shown to users on LinkedIn are no longer being displayed by the platform, according to a report.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 27 September 2024 17:47 IST

LinkedIn Silently Rolls Back Artificial Intelligence Prompts on Its Platform: Report

Photo Credit: Reuters

LinkedIn reportedly was training AI on user data without informing the user base

Highlights

LinkedIn announced AI features for Premium users last year
These AI prompts were followed by a golden sparkle icon
LinkedIn has reportedly confirmed removing these prompts from feed

LinkedIn is reportedly removing artificial intelligence (AI) prompts it was previously displaying on its platform. These AI prompts would appear on the feed of Premium users, nudging them to use the service's AI features. However, several users have stated that these prompts have not been visible on the service for a while. The company has also reportedly confirmed scaling back these prompts, without specifying a reason for doing so. Notably, a report earlier this month claimed that the social networking platform was training its AI models on user data without giving them a prior notice.

LinkedIn Scales Back AI Prompts Displayed to Premium Users

According to a Fast Company report, LinkedIn is silently removing the AI prompt suggestions in the feed which were spotted frequently by Premium users. These prompts appeared underneath every post and suggested related queries that a user could ask the AI. This feature was similar to what Meta released on Facebook.

However, the visibility of these prompts has reportedly been reduced significantly. LinkedIn spokesperson Suzi Owens confirmed to the publication that these AI suggestions were indeed being scaled back by the company, but highlighted that this was not in response to criticism by users or a negative perception of the AI features.

LinkedIn Might Have Been Training AI on Your Data

“Members can still use our AI-powered tools on the jobs home page to get personalized insights, like how to build a network, position yourself for a job, or learn about a company,” the spokesperson told the publication.

The point about user criticism comes as several users reportedly found their feed bombarded by these prompts, and not helpful. These suggestions were meant to encourage users to try out the AI features the company launched in November 2023. Notably, there is no way to turn off these prompts on LinkedIn.

The Microsoft-owned platform recently faced criticism for training its AI models without telling its user base explicitly. The data collection reportedly same to surface when several users found a setting options to turn off data collection to train AI models. Soon after, the company updated its policy to reflect its decision to collect user data.

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Further reading: LinkedIn, AI, Artificial Intelligence

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More