"Having the default to enablement shifts the dynamic significantly," Vahdat said. "Automatically enabling these features, even with good intentions, inherently places the onus on users to review and modify their privacy settings, which can feel intrusive or manipulative to some."
His view is that companies need to be more transparent, not less, in an environment where there is a lot of distrust and suspicion regarding AI.
Companies including Microsoft should emphasize default opt-out rather than opt-in, and might provide more granular, non-technical information about how personal content is handled because perception can become a reality.
"Even if the technology is completely safe, public perception is shaped not just by facts but by fears and assumptions — especially in the AI era where users often feel disempowered," he said.