The reply from @GaelDuval seems really tone deaf, and doesn’t actually address the main concerns of the people in this thread.
For instance:
This thread is nearly all criticism. This makes the post feel like a canned response right from the get go.
Nowhere in this response does Gael address the fact that our actual voices are still getting sent to OpenAI (which can be easily deanonymized), or the fact that OpenAI is one of the big tech companies people came to /e/ to avoid.
There also hasn’t been a response on the question about whether any data will be shared if we choose not to use this service. It’s probable that it won’t be, but the lack of a clear statement does make me wonder…
Most of us came to /e/ because we were willing to compromise not having features like STT or to have them implemented in a way that is inferior, but actually retains our privacy.
Then there’s this line:
I’m no criminal, but I do know that every voice clip sent to OpenAI will be analyzed by the US federal government. I’m sure they have the ability to deanonymize it without much trouble. No, /e/ isn’t equipped to handle a targeted attack from the NSA, FBI, or any other large government agency. But willingly contributing to the heaps of data they try to collect on everyone is a different matter entirely.
The last issue I’ve seen brought up is the transparency one. Nowhere in the presentation was it stated that OpenAI would be used for the STT feature. A simple mention that they were using OpenAI would have been enough. There still would have been backlash for sure, but hiding potential privacy violations is exactly why I don’t trust big tech. Now we have Murena doing the exact same thing.
For the first time, I’m considering looking elsewhere for my mobile OS. The lack of transparency and communication is the real issue here. I’m now no longer sure I can trust Murena to align with my values of privacy and avoiding big tech.