Artificial Intelligence may have plenty of beneficial uses, but it is making it harder than ever to keep your data protected. Sites that previously promised free communities and encouraged human connection are now selling their backlog of data to LLMs for AI learning purposes and profiting off of their members. By contrast, Experts Exchange has always asked its members to pay a small fee so the company could invest more in privacy and cybersecurity. This choice has paid off for members who can ensure that their past, present, and future contributions to the site will never be sold to LLMs or used by AIs.
Experts Exchange is a private community for technology professionals to exchange insight, tips, and tricks. The site is made up of question-and-answer forums where tech professionals and enthusiasts can help each other solve problems and answer questions. The community has always been private, voluntary, and safe for all users. Asking for a fee made it possible for Experts Exchange to provide support and security for all its members.
Contrasting sharply with Stack Overflow, Experts Exchange provides a distinctly different experience. Stack Overflow, which was created by former members of EE as a free alternative, initially grew by promoting an open-source ethos. However, recent developments have shifted perceptions. Stack Overflow's partnership with OpenAI, which involves sharing member data for AI training, has sparked controversy and disillusionment among its users. Experts Exchange's transparent and protective approach is the opposite, prioritizing member security over profits.
Stack Overflow champions free, open-source content, advocating for an accessible exchange of information. However, last month Stack Overflow announced that they were partnering with OpenAI through their Overflow API. The partnership allows OpenAI's large language model to train using Stack Overflow's data, including members' conversations and posts.
Many Stack Overflow users saw this announcement as a betrayal of everything the company stood for. Free and open-source appeared to go out the window as soon as the right price was offered. Contributors found out that they were unable to delete their previous posts and comments if they did not want AI using them to train, and some of those opposed to the partnerships had their accounts suspended. Experts Exchange has never and will never allow AI companies to scrape member data. Because of Experts Exchange's business model, the company does not need the capital from selling user data. The site has always been clear about the cost of doing business and will continue to uphold its member's values.
With Experts Exchange, users can be assured that none of their data, content, or likeness will be sold. Moderators strictly forbid the direct use of LLM content in threads on the site, and AI companies are blocked from scraping content from Experts Exchange to train LLMs. In the spirit of these assertions, Experts Exchange is currently offering a free 90-day trial that does not require users to enter any credit card information. Experts Exchange recognizes that new members will need to understand the benefits of using Experts Exchange, so the company is giving everyone the chance to experience the site with no long-term commitment. Take advantage of this offer now—Experts Exchange typically only offers a 7-day free trial.
Keep yourself protected by using platforms like Experts Exchange that do not try to cheat the cost of doing business. A subscription model ensures a level of trust and quality that free and open-source sites cannot live up to.
