Copilot scandal: Microsoft employees can see users’ photos

Some user photos uploaded to Microsoft’s Copilot artificial intelligence service are reportedly reviewed by human employees. According to internal documents obtained by 404 Media and statements from employees, the images, together with the user’s prompt, may be shown to people who evaluate Copilot’s results.

Human evaluation is widely used to improve artificial intelligence models. Evaluators determine how closely the model’s responses or generated images match the user’s request. The results of some image-editing tasks in Copilot are also reviewed using this method.

What makes the issue noteworthy is that evaluators can see not only the result generated by Copilot but also the original image uploaded by the user and the prompt they entered. According to employees who spoke to the source, these materials have included personal and sensitive photos.

According to 404 Media, evaluators have encountered nude and sexually explicit images, secretly taken photos, potentially exploitative material, and prompts requesting the sexualization of children. The source reports that encountering such material has caused distress among some employees.

For example, one employee said that an image of a user who uploaded a topless photo of themselves to Copilot to see how a certain change to their body would look was included in the evaluation process. In this case, the evaluator was able to see both the original image provided by the user and the instructions they gave Copilot.

The information that has emerged raises privacy concerns, particularly for users who upload personal photos to Copilot. When a user edits a photo of a family member, an acquaintance or themselves using artificial intelligence, they may assume that the material is processed only by an automated system. However, the information obtained by 404 Media shows that, in some cases, this content may also be seen by human evaluators.

According to the information provided by the source, this does not mean that employees review every photo belonging to every Copilot user. The information indicates that certain image-editing tasks may be included in human evaluation.