The AI opt-out model that Meta, Musk's X and the UK Gov are proposing is simply not a good way for us to safeguard ourselves against data scraping

and are the AI scrapers that people are most concerned about. The proposed changes by the UK Government and Elon Musk’s X could be difficult to opt out of if not obfuscated.

Tech Crunch has noted that a recent privacy policy change at the social media site, Starting with X may share your data. If you do not opt out of the data sharing, your data can be used for AI models "whether generative, or otherwise". You can opt out by going to 'Settings,' then 'Data Sharing and Personalization,' and turning off data sharing.

You are not informed of this when you create an account. Making an account allows the social media site access to data that is used on its website. However, it does not appear to be required to do so. X has its own AI chatbot and model named Grok. Your data can, and probably has, been used to train AI models on other sites.

The Financial Times reported that the UK government is currently consulting about a proposal which would allow companies the opportunity to train AI models using data scraped off websites, unless their users opt out.

This is not a good way to fully educate consumers on how and why their data will be used. Users will not be able to understand how their data is being used if they are only given the option to opt out through an app's settings.

It would be better to have an opt-in model, where users could choose to allow AI to scrape their data if they choose. It's difficult to believe that enough users will do this to satisfy the data needs of AI models and their owners.

If site owners are unhappy about an opt-in system, it means they are aware that many people would not want their data scraped. This is a part of the problem when opt-out policies are used. It's a way to appease those who are in the know, but it isn't a good tool to inform the average consumer of their data rights.

AI scraping is a new concept for many users, and many sites. It feels like the current models were built on a Wild West frontier approach that was present at the beginning of generative artificial intelligent. AI companies have been using copyright-free methods and ethically ambiguous actions to collect data for a while. Consumers need to be more proactive than ever about their privacy.