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Among the many unresolved issues around the use of generative AI in the digital workplace, one of the biggest relates to how vendors acquire the data used to train large language models.
This week, it emerged that Zoom had updated its terms of service in March to theoretically allow Zoom to use customers' data to train AI — with no way for customers to opt out.
First noted in a Hacker news post, the updated terms and conditions indicated that anyone using the platform was also agreeing to the use of some of their data for the purpose of building AI models. The data in question mainly consisted of “service-generated data” that included data on how the product was being used and diagnostics data, but also content generated through the use of the product.
In the updated terms, the company states that it “does not use audio, video or chat content for training its models."
However, it also adds that by signing the consent form, users consent to the “use collection, creation modification, processing … [of] service generative data for any purpose …” adding that this includes “… machine learning or artificial intelligence including for the purposes of training and tuning algorithms and models."
The changes caused quite a stir, forcing Smita Hashim, chief product officer with the company, to respond to widespread concerns in a blog post.
The blog post repeated much of what the terms of service contained and insisted that use of the information would only be done with the users’ consent.
The company also noted that its AI-powered featured are off by default, but that when a meeting host turns consent on, other participants are offered the chance to opt in or out
Not everyone is convinced. Already, the Fight for the Future organization has launched an online petition to demand that Zoom change its position.
Even Zoom CEO Eric Yuan appears to have acknowledged that the company made a mistake. In a LinkedIn post during the week he wrote, “We had a process failure internally that we will fix.” What the fix entails remains to be seen.
More on this coming soon.
Zoom Calls Workers Back to Workplace
That’s not all from Zoom this week. Reports suggest that Zoom has asked workers to return to the office for at least two days a week.
According to Business Insider, any employee that works within 50 miles of a company office will have to turn up for two days onsite. Zoom had been one of the last remote working hold-outs, but it too is now turning to a hybrid work model.
“We believe that a structured hybrid approach — meaning employees that live near an office need to be onsite two days a week to interact with their teams — is most effective for Zoom,” Colleen Rodriguez, Zoom’s head of global PR, said in a statement to Business Insider. "As a company, we are in a better position to use our own technologies, continue to innovate, and support our global customers."
While the change has received a great deal of attention, it comes as no real surprise.
Zoom continued to apply a remote model as other tech companies slowly returned to the office in a tacit acknowledgement that hybrid models are the way of the future.
Google has been working on this basis for more than a year now while, at the other extreme, Elon Musk ended remote working completely for employees when he bought what was then known as Twitter.
While this may make it seem as if the return to the workplace, even on a hybrid basis, is inevitable, the reality is every workplace is going to have to find the approach that works the best for its purposes.
Verizon Closes Down BlueJeans Video App
The way work is changing is also having an impact on the enterprise collaboration market. Video communications, one of the mainstays of the market, is also showing signs of change.
Case in point: this week Verizon announced that it is closing down the BlueJeans video app.
Verizon bought BlueJeans for $500 million in 2020, a price that seemed high at the time, but was somewhat justified in the context of the COVID pandemic.
Development of the platform continued after the sale, including a partnership with Google in early 2022 that preloaded the BlueJeans app onto the Glass Enterprise Edition 2 smart glasses sold by Verizon. Earlier this year it launched a new free tier for the app.
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However, in a widely circulated email that seen by 9to5 Google, the company announced that it was “sunsetting” the app.
It will start by closing the free version at the end of this month. It didn’t say when the service will be closed in its entirety, but it probably won’t see the year's end.
Verizon didn’t say much about the closure, but referred to changing market conditions.
In its Q1 earnings call in April, Verizon stated that it would be focused on “sustainable growth in mobility and deliver on the revenue growth opportunities within fixed wireless, 5G private wireless and mobile edge compute solutions.” BlueJeans clearly didn't have a future in this strategy.
Microsoft Brings Copilot to Frontline Workers
This week Microsoft introduced Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service and a new Dynamics 365 Field Service mobile experience for frontline technicians.
This will give frontline service managers and technicians the ability to streamline repetitive tasks as well as providing them with support to complete jobs at hand. The releases include:
1. Copilot in Dynamics 365 Field Service
According to a Microsoft blog about the release, it will enable frontline service managers to auto-populate customer work orders with details and data that Copilot pulls from Outlook and/or Teams.
2. Dynamics 365 Field Service Mobile Experience
This specifically aims to cut in half the number of taps it takes to complete key tasks. Here the blog points to Dynamics 365 Guides integration, that provide step-by-step instructions for tasks, and access to Dynamics 365 Remote Assist.
The introduction of these tools respond to Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index which found that 50% of frontline workers say they are burned out at work. The result — in part — is that nearly half (45%) of those employees say they are considering changing jobs in the next 12 months.
There is more too. The new Announcements in Viva Connections will make it possible for managers to create communications that target workers with role-specific updates and safety policy changes. Managers will also be able to send messages directly from Viva Connections without having to leave Teams. These messages are sent through push notifications to mobile devices.
The new integrations and tools for frontline workers are being rolled-out this week. However, it is unlikely that these are all that Microsoft is planning for such an important part of the workforce.
Microsoft Opens Clipchamp to Microsoft 365
That isn't all from Microsoft this week. The company also boosted the video functionality in Microsoft 365 with the addition of Microsoft Clipchamp, a tool to make professional-level videos through a browser-based toolset.
Clipchamp isn’t new. It has been available for some time to Microsoft 365 users with personal accounts. With this announcement however, Clipchamp will be made available to Microsoft 365 commercial customers that are part of the targeted release program.
The tool allows people to make short professional videos without the need for prior video creation experience, according to Microsoft. Microsoft compares it to the introduction of Word and how it enabled workers to create professional looking documents.
The drag-and-drop interface also offers a multitrack editing timeline so users can clearly see how videos, images, text and audio overlap within the video. Existing content can also be imported from OneDrive to be edited, and new content can be brought in from webcams or screen recorders.
It is worth noting here that while Clipchamp is built on OneDrive it is also dependent on SharePoint, which makes it possible to embed videos into other productivity apps. Here Microsoft cites Teams, emails with Outlook and Microsoft Viva Engage.
Clipchamp will become available through Targeted release by the end of the month. Microsoft didn't provide dates for wider release.
Worth noting though is that some of the features currently available for personal accounts will not be immediately available for work accounts. They include brand kits, stock video, audio and images, text-to-speech, automatic captions or subtitles, advanced titles, and annotations.
That said, Clipchamp fills one of the holes in the Microsoft 365 panoply of products. To date, there is still no video creator/editor in the suite and there were even rumors at one point that Microsoft might be interested in TikTok to fill that hole. Clipchamp is a far more sensible option and should be available to everyone over the coming months.
Google Starts Slow Roll-out of eSignature for Workspace
Google, meanwhile, is improving its workflow capabilities in Google Workspace, this time with the addition of eSignature. The new addition is for Google Docs and Drive and is available for individual and certain group accounts.
The only surprise here is that it has taken Google so long to introduce into Workspace what is widely considered a key element in the end to end work processes.
Access is currently in an open beta release and targets small businesses and individuals who are working for themselves.
Google explained in a blog post that it launched the new capability in alpha release in 2022 and that it's natively integrated into Docs, meaning people can sign documents without leaving Workspace.
However, over the coming months it will be expanding the release and adding new features including an audit trail of what has been signed, multi-user capabilities, the ability to request signatures from non-Gmail users as well as the ability to create eSignatures for PDFs that are already stored in Drive.
It will also be extending access to the beta offering to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter and Enterprise Standard editions among others with invitations to participate in the beta opening up in the coming weeks. The roll-out for individual users of Workspace starts this week.
Osano Raises $25M
Finally this week, data privacy management software provider Osano announced a $25 million Series B funding round. According to a statement from the company, it will use the money to build up its teams across the company.
Its goal, the statement reads, is to expand multiple departments including engineering, product development and sales with a focus on simplifying compliance and privacy strategies.
While the development and deployment of generative AI applications and models have multiplied over the past few months, so have concerns about protecting the privacy and security of data.
This is also becoming more complicated by the emergence of new regulatory regimes as individual governments start tackling the problem of protecting the data of their citizens.
Osano was founded in 2018 and has raised $19.4 million prior to this current round.
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