I am a Proton user, and I’m concerned about CEO Andy Yen pushing AI use despite security concerns. I think this is the wrong move, both ethically and for security and privacy.
404 Media reported: “Andy Yen, the CEO of Proton, had a message for an employee in the company’s security Slack channel who urged the company to at least take a few days to pentest newly written code before pushing it live.”
That seems very reasonable and responsible. You’re dealing with people’s privacy here; a little caution seems wise. But what happens when a CEO puts profits before people? You get this response:
“That’s bullshit and loser thinking. Of course it’s possible to be fast and secure,” Yen wrote in the channel at the end of August. “Stop thinking always of how to be slower, and focus more on how to be faster.”
Andy Yen needs to realize that people use Proton because it’s different from Google. If I wanted speed above all else, I would have stuck with Google. I want security, privacy, and a user-focused service.
But it gets worse. As 404 Media reports: “That AI push came to a head this week when 404 Media reported Proton said it would re-interview staff about their use of AI, with the clear implication that those interviews, and employees’ willingness to embrace AI, could decide whether a worker is fired or not.”
So they’re going to fire the very people who should be running the company. Andy Yen is the one who should get canned. I’m not against careful use of AI, with its output double-checked by programmers, but this is ridiculous. This AI craze will be the ruin of many companies.
Cybernews reports that “Proton users cancel subscriptions following CEO Andy Yen’s ‘loser thinking’ remarks.” If Proton continues down this road, I may have to follow suit. I don’t want AI writing code and running in the background. I’m very disappointed in Proton for taking this direction.
References
404 Media
https://www.404media.co/manifestos-fear-and-loser-thinking-inside-protons-ai-reckoning/
Cyber News
https://cybernews.com/ai-news/proton-cancel-subscriptions/