Microsoft Unveils New Black Mirror Recall Feature

The new Microsoft ‘Black Mirror’ Recall feature uses AI to record everything you do, and privacy concerns have been raised by some users.

Microsoft is deploying a new feature dubbed “Recall” for select Windows 11 PCs that employs artificial intelligence to maintain a comprehensive log of user activity, including everything displayed on the screen. 

Microsoft’s new line of “Copilot+ PCs” will include the AI-powered feature, according to a company blog post published on May 20 by Microsoft Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Mehdi.

As described by Medhi, the function provides “photographic memory” for the computer. The functionality employs artificial intelligence to periodically capture screenshots of user interactions, documenting their current computer activities.

Mehdi explained that one of the most demanding daily challenges is locating a previously viewed item on our personal computer.

“Copilot+ PCs organize information similarly to how humans do – based on experiences-specific relationships and associations,” Medhi explained, adding:

 This helps you remember things you may have forgotten so you can find what you’re looking for quickly and intuitively by simply using the cues you remember.”

Microsoft demonstrated in a demonstration video how Recall enables users to locate content from a previously viewed application, website, or document by scrolling through a visual timeline.

It also employs samples for object recognition to generate action recommendations based on previously identified objects in content. Users can manage their privacy by deleting individual snapshots, adjusting time ranges, halting the recording, or filtering out specific applications or websites from being indexed.

The operation resembles technological concepts in the British science fiction anthology and television series Black Mirror.

“The Entire History of You,” the third and final episode of the original series, featured characters who could selectively rewind and project their memories onto a screen.

A billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk acknowledged the parallels in a May 21 post on his social media platform X.

“This is a Black Mirror episode. Definitely turning this “feature” off.”

In the interim, apprehensions have been expressed regarding Recall’s generative AI; according to the global digital content publishing network 80 Level, some users are concerned that their confidential information may be used without their consent to train the company’s AI models.

Microsoft could be fined up to 1% of its annual revenue in the European Union if it fails to respond to a request for information regarding its search engine Bing and associated generative AI services, according to a report by Cointelegraph on May 17.