Tumblr and Wordpress to Sell Users’ Data to Train AI Tools

Tumblr and Wordpress are preparing to sell user data to AI companies Midjourney and OpenAI. The deals between the parent company of Tumblr and Wordpress (Automattic) and Midjourney and OpenAI are said to be imminent according to an internal source. The exact types of data from each platform that would go to each AI company are not specified in the internal documentation. Internal communications show the deals between Automattic and the two AI companies are happening. An internal Tumblr post by a product manager states that a query to prepare data for Midjourney and OpenAI captured a huge amount of user posts that it wasn't supposed to. It is unclear if this improperly captured user data has already been sent to the AI companies or if the product manager was detailing a process to scrub the data before sending. The passage is about Tumblr and Wordpress planning to sell user data to AI companies to train their tools. The deals and plans to share user data have caused controversy internally at Tumblr. An internal source and documentation is the source of the information about the deals. The article is on a webpage for a newsletter about joining to get updates.