Lillian Barnard, President for Microsoft Africa, stated Thursday that the company plans to offer cyber security and artificial intelligence (AI) training to one million South Africans by 2026.
TakeAway Points:
- Microsoft aims to provide 1 million people in South Africa with artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber security training opportunities by 2026, Lillian Barnard, President for Microsoft Africa, said on Thursday.
- Premium users of Microsoft have filed a lawsuit against LinkedIn, claiming that the business-oriented social media site shared their private chats with outside parties without their consent in order to build generative AI models.
- The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for breach of contract and violations of California’s unfair competition law, and $1,000 per person for violations of the federal Stored Communications Act.
1 million South African to be trained by Microsoft
Microsoft’s (AI) national skilling initiative targets a broad audience, and in South Africa will prioritise all sectors from companies to government and the youth, Barnard said at the company’s “AI Tour” in Johannesburg.
She did not disclose the investment figure for the initiative.
“By providing skilling opportunities and access to industry-recognised certifications, our youth will be well positioned to compete on the global stage,” Barnard said.
Microsoft, the first global “hyperscale” public cloud provider to build data centres in South Africa, has trained four million Africans in the last five years and has committed to train 30 million Africans in the next five years.
Microsoft’s LinkedIn sued for disclosing customer information to train AI models
Microsoft’s LinkedIn has been sued by Premium customers who said the business-focused social media platform disclosed their private messages to third parties without permission to train generative artificial intelligence models.
According to a proposed class action filed on Tuesday night on behalf of millions of LinkedIn Premium customers, LinkedIn quietly introduced a privacy setting last August that let users enable or disable the sharing of their personal data.
Customers said LinkedIn then discreetly updated its privacy policy on Sept. 18 to say data could be used to train AI models, and in a “frequently asked questions” hyperlink, it said opting out “does not affect training that has already taken place.”
This attempt to “cover its tracks” suggests LinkedIn was fully aware it violated customers’ privacy and its promise to use personal data only to support and improve its platform in order to minimize public scrutiny and legal fallout, the complaint said.
The lawsuit was filed in the San Jose, California, federal court on behalf of LinkedIn Premium customers who sent or received InMail messages and whose private information was disclosed to third parties for AI training before Sept. 18.
It seeks unspecified damages for breach of contract and violations of California’s unfair competition law, and $1,000 per person for violations of the federal Stored Communications Act.
LinkedIn said in a statement: “These are false claims with no merit.”
The lawsuit was filed several hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a joint venture among Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank, with a potential $500 billion of investment, to build AI infrastructure in the United States.
