Dear Editor,

A new feature appearing on some Android WhatsApp Business accounts should concern every citizen. A notice now states: “Your business [artificial intelligence] AI will learn from this chat and may reply.” More troubling is that this setting appears to be enabled by default. Users cannot switch it off universally; instead, they must disable it individually for each chat. This is an unrealistic safeguard in busy professional environments.

WhatsApp Business is widely used for sensitive communication, including medical consultations, financial discussions, legal matters, and confidential client exchanges. The prospect of an embedded AI system “learning” from these conversations without explicit opt-in consent raises serious questions about privacy, data governance, and transparency. Convenience cannot justify quiet expansion of data usage practices that most users neither requested nor clearly understand.

Whether this roll-out is country-specific remains uncertain. However, its implications are universal. This is part of a broader and deeply concerning trend: the steady normalisation of AI systems embedded into private communications, with default participation rather than informed consent.

I urge the Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Daryl Vaz to review this development urgently and consider regulatory safeguards that protect citizens’ digital rights. Big technology companies must not be allowed to redefine privacy boundaries unilaterally.

Perhaps this is also a moment for reflection. As AI tools proliferate, we must decide how much of our communication we are willing to surrender to automation. Progress should empower users, not quietly erode their autonomy.

We cannot accept the quiet harvesting of our private conversations. Privacy surrendered today becomes lost freedoms tomorrow. Once given away, it is rarely reclaimed.

Dr Kurt Gabriel

kurt.gabriel@hotmail.com