Why Slack is blocking companies from accessing their customers' chats
What's the story
Salesforce's popular workplace messaging app, Slack, has restricted other software firms from accessing or storing messages on its platform. The move, first reported by The Information, comes even if the customers of these companies have given their consent. Now, the companies can only use and store their customers' Slack data temporarily before it needs to be deleted. Slack says this is meant to protect customer privacy.
Data protection
Move part of Salesforce's strategy to control its own data
The Information reported that this move to restrict access to Slack customer data, is part of Salesforce's strategy to control its own data for potential future uses, like creating new AI products. This could potentially indicate a shift in the tech landscape as companies increasingly rely on machine learning and generative AI technologies.
Strategic shift
Shift toward AI-driven solutions
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has been pushing the company away from traditional cloud computing and toward data-driven machine learning and generative AI. This strategic shift is in line with the rapid evolution of technology and its increasing reliance on artificial intelligence. Slack's latest move also comes amid growing scrutiny over how AI companies handle personal and customer data for training their models.