OpenAI Unveils AI Agent Dots at DevDay, Targeting Privacy

OpenAI unveiled its new AI agent Dots at its DevDay event, with CEO Sam Altman saying the company wants to set a new standard for privacy in frontier AI. Dots is available only on ChatGPT subscription tiers costing $100 and up.

During the event, OpenAI executives presented a framework giving enterprises stronger controls over their data, including options for a zero data retention policy. Altman also demonstrated ways for users to control their individual Dots, such as setting a rule that it should never make a purchase above a certain dollar amount.

OpenAI spent part of the day criticizing Meta's Muse, an AI product it said has failed to keep user data safe. Glen Coates, OpenAI's head of app platform, said Meta does not have an AI product with 1.2 billion users and that OpenAI would take care to avoid the kinds of mistakes seen elsewhere. Alexander Embiricos, OpenAI's Codex product lead, said onstage that the company is focused on having the most trustworthy, safe, and secure assistant, according to The Verge.

Meta's Muse under scrutiny

Meta launched Muse about two months before the article as a safer alternative to its predecessor, OpenClaw. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Muse was built from the ground up for privacy and security, and Nat Friedman, head of product at Meta Superintelligence Labs, wrote on X that the goal was to build something like OpenClaw that could be made safe, secure, easy to use, and scalable to billions of people. Meta said user data is stored on a secure virtual machine, which Zuckerberg described as an isolated Linux computer with a browser, CPU, memory, and storage.

Muse's rollout was followed by security concerns. A security researcher exposed a zero-day vulnerability that could allow someone to take control of Muse; it has since been patched. Multiple serious security issues reportedly appeared at the last minute before launch, one of which could have allowed users to access Meta's own internal databases, according to 404 Media. An Inc. reporter said Muse uploaded and read his private messages without being asked, and a YouTuber said Muse offered his address to a stranger via Marketplace. Wired reported that Muse creates detailed profiles of users' friends and family. Muse defaults to allowing Meta to train models on user input, though users can opt out.