Facebook parent Meta has revealed its latest strategy to train cutting-edge artificial intelligence: harvesting the keystrokes and mouse movements of its own employees. This move, according to Reuters, underscores a broader trend where companies are increasingly drawing on internal communications as AI fuel.

The plan is for these data points—like clicking buttons or navigating menus—to help refine Meta’s models better understand human interaction with computers. However, the revelation has raised eyebrows regarding privacy concerns, especially when compared to previous instances of startups’ internal records being repurposed without their consent.

Meta insists there are safeguards in place to protect sensitive content and that the data will not be used for anything else. Yet, given the growing appetite for such training data, it begs the question: how long until all our digital detritus becomes fair game?

The tech industry’s quest for better AI may have found its own Pandora's box, one that could open up a host of ethical and privacy issues. As AI systems become more pervasive in everyday life, so too does the need to scrutinize the data they are trained on.