QuoteMicrosoft's OneDrive Begins Testing Face-Recognizing AI for Photos (for Some Preview Users)
I uploaded a photo on my phone to Microsoft's "OneDrive" file-hosting app — and there was a surprise waiting under Privacy and Permissions. "OneDrive uses AI to recognize faces in your photos..."
And...
"You can only turn off this setting 3 times a year."
If I moved the slidebar for that setting to the left (for "No"), it moved back to the right, and said "Something went wrong while updating this setting." (Apparently it's not one of those three times of the year.)
The feature is already rolling out to a limited number of users in a preview, a Microsoft publicist confirmed to Slashdot. (For the record, I don't remember signing up for this face-recognizing "preview".) But there's a link at the bottom of the screen for a "Microsoft Privacy Statement" that leads to a Microsoft support page, which says instead that "This feature is coming soon and is yet to be released." And in the next sentence it's been saying "Stay tuned for more updates" for almost two years...
A Microsoft publicist agreed to answer Slashdot's questions...
Slashdot: What's the reason OneDrive tells users this setting can only be turned off 3 times a year? (And are those any three times — or does that mean three specific days, like Christmas, New Year's Day, etc.)
[Microsoft's publicist chose not to answer this question.]
Slashdot: If I move the slidebar to the left (for "No"), it moves back to the right, and says "Something went wrong while updating this setting." So is it correct to say that there's no way for users to select "No" now?
Microsoft: We haven't heard about the experience you are having with toggling, but our Microsoft contacts would like to investigate why this is happening for you. Can you share what type of device you are using, so we can put you in touch with the right team?
Slashdot: Is this feature really still "coming soon"? Can you give me more specific details on when "soon" will be?
Microsoft: This feature is currently rolling out to limited users in a preview so we can learn and improve. We have nothing more to share at this time.
Slashdot: I want to confirm something about how this feature is "yet to be released." Does this mean that currently OneDrive is not (and has never) used AI to "recognize" faces in photos?
Microsoft: Privacy is built into all Microsoft OneDrive experiences. Microsoft OneDrive services adhere to the Microsoft Privacy Statement and follow Microsoft's compliance with General Data Protection Regulation and the Microsoft EU Data Boundary.
Slashdot: Some privacy advocates prefer "opt-in" features, but it looks like here OneDrive is planning a (limited) opt-out feature. What is the reasoning for going with opt-out rather than opt-in?
Microsoft: Microsoft OneDrive inherits privacy features and settings from Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, where applicable.
Slashdot also spoke to EFF security/privacy activist Thorin Klosowski, who expressed concerns. "Any feature related to privacy really should be opt-in and companies should provide clear documentation so its users can understand the risks and benefits to make that choice for themselves."
Microsoft's "three times a year" policy also seemed limiting to Klosowski. "People should also be able to change those settings at-will whenever possible because we all encounter circumstances were we need to re-evaluate and possibly change our privacy settings."
Quote from: Jacob on October 13, 2025, 10:22:50 PMAnother related thought on the whole "keys" thing:I think AI has much more potential for disruption than devastating the white collar class. AI makes surveillance state far more efficient. A mature AI solution would be able to listen to everyone, process everything it listens to, and connect all the dots, because AI can essentially function as one spy with infinite time and attention span.
If AI lives up to a significant amount of its billing, it could render a significant number of the educated middle class surplus in various ways. This means that they'll become less economically relevant and/ or unnecessary to administer the apparatuses of the state and the economy; which in turn means it's unnecessary to cater to them.
In the US, it means that those who've long nursed a hatred for the "liberal coastal elites" might get to see some joy in watching that group getting short shrift (along with the institutions of democracy that are typically required to keep the broader middle classes in line).
On the flip side, as I understand it a disenfranchised middle class is historically fertile grounds for revolutions and coups.
Of course it remains to be seen if AI delivers on the promise (or threat, depending on your perspective).
QuoteBy Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) -A greatly weakened Hamas has sought to reassert itself in Gaza since a ceasefire took hold, killing at least 33 people in a crackdown on groups that have tested its grip and appearing to get a U.S. nod to temporarily police the shattered enclave.
Pummelled by Israel during the war ignited by the October 7, 2023 attacks, Hamas has gradually sent its men back into the streets of Gaza since the ceasefire began on Friday, moving cautiously in case it suddenly collapses, according to two security sources in the territory.
On Monday, Hamas deployed members of its Qassam Brigades military wing as it freed the last living hostages seized from Israel two years ago. It was a reminder of one of the major challenges facing U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to secure a lasting deal for Gaza, as the U.S., Israel and many other nations demand Hamas disarm.
Reuters footage showed dozens of Hamas fighters lined up at a hospital in southern Gaza, one wearing a shoulder patch identifying him as a member of the elite "Shadow Unit" that Hamas sources say was tasked with guarding hostages.
One of the Gaza sources, a security official, said that since the ceasefire, Hamas forces had killed 32 members of "a gang affiliated with a family in Gaza City", while six of its personnel had also been killed.
Later on Monday, a video circulating on social media appeared to show several masked gunmen, some of them wearing green headbands resembling ones worn by Hamas, shooting with machine guns at least seven men after forcing them to kneel in the street. Posts identified the video as filmed in Gaza on Monday. Civilian spectators cheered "Allah Akbar," or God is Great, and called those killed "collaborators."
Reuters could not immediately verify the events of the video, its date or location. There was no immediate response from Hamas.
Last month, Hamas-led authorities said they executed three men accused of collaborating with Israel. The video of the public killing was shared on social media.
TEMPORARY POLICING ROLE?
Trump's plan foresees Hamas out of power in a demilitarised Gaza run by a Palestinian committee under international supervision. It calls for the deployment of an international stabilisation mission that will train and support a Palestinian police force.
But Trump, speaking on his way to the Middle East, suggested Hamas had been given a temporary green light to police Gaza.
"They do want to stop the problems, and they've been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time," he said, responding to a journalist's question about reports that Hamas was shooting rivals and instituting itself as a police force.
After the ceasefire took effect, Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of Hamas' Gaza government media office, told Reuters the group would not allow a security vacuum and that it would maintain public safety and property.
Hamas has ruled out any discussion of its arsenal, saying it would be ready to surrender its arms to a future Palestinian state. The group has said it seeks no role in Gaza's future governing body, but that this should be agreed upon by Palestinians with no foreign control.
INTERNAL CONFLICT WITH CLANS
As the war dragged on, a diminished Hamas faced growing internal challenges to its control of Gaza from groups with which it has long been at odds, often affiliated with clans.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this year that Israel had been arming clans that oppose Hamas, without identifying them.
In Gaza City, Hamas has mostly battled the Doghmosh clan, residents and Hamas sources said.
The security official did not identify the "gang" who had been targeted in Gaza City, nor say whether it had been suspected of receiving support from Israel.
The most prominent anti-Hamas clan leader is Yasser Abu Shabab, who is based in the Rafah area - an area from which Israel has yet to withdraw.
Offering attractive salaries, his group has recruited hundreds of fighters, a source close to Abu Shabab told Reuters earlier this year. Hamas calls him a collaborator with Israel, which he denies.
The Gaza security official said that separately to the clashes in Gaza City, Hamas security forces had killed Abu Shabab's "right-hand man" and efforts were underway to kill Abu Shabab himself.
Abu Shabab did not immediately respond to questions on the official's comments. Reuters could not immediately verify the claim that his aide had been killed.
Hussam al-Astal, another anti-Hamas figure based in Khan Younis in areas controlled by Israel, taunted the group in a video message on Sunday, saying that once it hands over the hostages, its role and rule in Gaza would be over.
Palestinian analyst Reham Owda said Hamas actions aimed to deter groups that had collaborated with Israel and contributed to insecurity during the war. Hamas also aimed to show that its security officers should be part of a new government, though this would be rejected by Israel, she said.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Ros Russell, Aidan Lewis and Rosalba O'Brien)
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