Two months ago, $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ the introduction of a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature called Recall for its computers triggered a security debate, and now this feature is getting ready to make a comeback.
On Wednesday, August 21, Eastern Time, Microsoft updated its company blog post, stating that the company is committed to providing customers with a reliable and secure Copilot+ PC Recall (preview) experience. Recall will provide a pre-release version of the open software testing project Windows Insider in October to registered users. As shared with the public on June 13, the company has adjusted its release strategy, leveraging the valuable expertise of Windows Insider users before the Recall feature is launched on all Copilot+ PCs.
Microsoft stated that security remains the company's top priority, and when Recall is made available to Windows Insider users in October, a blog post containing more detailed information will be released.
The above updates indicate that Microsoft will begin allowing Windows users to test the AI search feature Recall starting from October, providing an advanced AI technology experience for the new batch of PC computers by Microsoft. However, Microsoft did not specify when the Recall feature that meets the system requirements will be widely available on Windows computers.
In May of this year, Microsoft officially introduced the first batch of AI PCs, namely Copilot+ PCs. Its partners such as Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, etc. will also launch Windows 11 AI PCs, which will be released gradually starting from June 18. The first batch of Copilot+ PCs by Microsoft is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X and starts at $999. Some media outlets have likened it to the 'Tesla of the PC industry'. Along with the release of this batch of PCs, there is also some bad news: Microsoft's flagship AI PC feature, Recall, has been mired in negative reviews.
Because Recall takes screenshots of activities on the computer screen so that users can search for information they have seen before. This feature captures the screen of the active window every few seconds and, by default, records all user actions in Windows without content moderation. This means that this feature can capture all screen content of PC users, including bank account passwords, confidential files, and more.
Cybersecurity researchers quickly expressed their concerns that Windows would automatically capture images without user consent. The researchers released open-source software to demonstrate how personal information can be easily obtained by attackers. In response to criticism about privacy breaches and threats to personal information security, Microsoft announced in June that Recall will be set to default off, and pledged to enhance the security of this feature.
Regarding Microsoft's announcement of testing Recall starting in October this week, some netizens commented on social media X that Recall is indeed controversial. However, considering that they recently lost patience while trying to explain an open-source 3D creation suite Blender to a child, it would be great if Microsoft's AI assistant CoPilot can guide users with clicks. Even if the AI is not allowed to see the screen, just helping users navigate would already be very helpful. Recall does have privacy issues, but it will be great.
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