Asked about the privacy implications of chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude, Signal President Meredith Whittaker answered, “These are not your friends. These are not conscious beings. These are not sentient interlocutors.”

In an interview with Bloomberg, Whittaker elaborated that while she uses AI tools "to format a document here and there," she does not engage in dialogue with them. She is wary of the potential for AI systems to disrupt her creative process.

Mustafa Suleyman’s prediction that Microsoft Copilot could handle Christmas shopping this year was met with caution by Whittaker, who highlighted the extensive access such a system would gain across multiple applications and services. “In the context of Signal,” she warned, “it would constitute a kind of backdoor.”

Whittaker’s concerns are rooted in the idea that AI tools should not be seen as extensions of human thought but rather as tools to assist with specific tasks. She is careful about how and when these tools are used, emphasizing the importance of maintaining personal privacy and control over one's data.