“It's an episode of Black Mirror.”

Windows 11 is getting ready to welcome a new feature that's already getting a lot of attention: Summoning. If Microsoft welcomed this new feature, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, strongly criticized the Recall program, describing it as an episode of the Black Mirror series.

Recall is a new AI feature coming soon to Windows 11. It was announced yesterday, during the opening night of Build 2024. But how does this feature actually work?

First of all, Recall continuously records every action you perform on your computer: the applications you use, the websites you visit, the conversations you have, etc.

All this data is then analyzed and categorized by AI, which is able to understand the context of each action and link it together.

The result: You can perform an AI-powered search, which Microsoft calls “recall,” and find any information or past action in an instant. Recall will then present you with a snapshot of that time period, with all the information you need.

But remember it doesn't stop there. The tool is also able to transcribe and translate your meetings and live videos in real time, thanks to the Live Captions function. You can then find these transcriptions and translations in your call log.

If this function requires power, it's because it is completely local: the data is not stored in the cloud, which reduces the risk of hacking and data leakage.

Mention on Windows 11: Elon Musk and Microsoft react

If Microsoft welcomed the arrival of the Recall feature on Windows 11, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has strongly criticized this feature.

In a job oncalled Recall an episode of Black Mirror, and said it would disable the feature once it was available.

For Elon Musk, Recall is a scary privacy tool. By constantly recording every action performed on a computer, Recall can collect sensitive and personal data and use it for malicious purposes.

In the face of these criticisms, Microsoft wanted to defend itself. In an interview given to Wall Street JournalMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella noted that Recall can only be executed if it runs locally, without anything other than NPU processes accessing the cloud and being used for false purposes.

According to Microsoft, Recall is a secure and reliable tool when it comes to confidentiality. But will that be enough to convince Elon Musk and other Recall critics? Nothing is less certain.

In any case, Recall will soon be available on Windows 11, and everyone will be able to form their own opinion about the innovative and controversial AI feature.