Microsoft CEO boasts about new AI chatbot that will surveil users aided by 'photographic memory'
Blaze Media
Wall Street Journal video interview with Joanna Stern (Copilot+ PCs)
“Photographic memory into what you do on the PC, and now we have it ... that's one of the reasons why Recall works as a magical thing, because I can trust it that it is on my computer”
Satya Nadellareported 20 May 2024- What you'll lose5/5
A screenshot of everything on your screen.
- Condescension3/5
'Creepy' answered with 'trust'.
- Tone-deafness4/5
Called it 'a magical thing'.
- Doom1/5
A searchable record of your whole PC.
- Hypocrisy2/5
Microsoft then delayed it over privacy and security concerns.
Full time15 pitchforksof a possible 25
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The occasion
Wall Street Journal video interview with Joanna Stern (Copilot+ PCs), reported 20 May 2024.
Context
Promoting Windows Copilot+ PCs to the Wall Street Journal, Nadella described Recall, which takes screenshots of what is on screen so an on-device model can make a PC's history searchable. Asked about the reaction that it is 'pretty creepy', he said it only works because it runs locally. Microsoft delayed Recall's broad release in June 2024 after privacy and security concerns. Outlets differ slightly on the 'magical thing' sentence (Blaze Media omits 'that it is on my computer'); the wording here follows the transcript of the video. The date is the day the clip circulated (an embedded post of 2024-05-20 in iTWire), not confirmed as the recording day.
Crowd reaction
Outrage
Blaze Media reports Elon Musk likening Recall to a dystopian science-fiction plot and critics objecting on privacy grounds; Xataka reports users calling it 'a privacy nightmare'; CBC/AP reports Microsoft delayed the broad rollout over privacy and cybersecurity concerns. The anger was aimed at the feature, and 'photographic memory' is Nadella's phrase for it.
- Primary source, video
- Blaze Media: Microsoft CEO boasts about new AI chatbot that will surveil users aided by 'photographic memory'
- iTWire: Satya Nadella wants security – and also stupid features on your PC
- Xataka On: Windows’ Photographic Memory Feature, Recall, Wants You to Trust Microsoft More Than Any Other Company
- CBC News (Associated Press): Microsoft delays adding 'photographic memory' screenshot feature to Windows over privacy concerns
- Futurism: Microsoft Admits That Maybe Surveiling Everything You Do on Your Computer Isn’t a Brilliant Idea
- Where the exact words are printed