As of Wednesday March 27, 2024, the Division of Information Technology has configured UMD’s Zoom to allow faculty, staff, and students to turn on Zoom’s AI-based automatic note-taking service, Zoom AI Companion.
AI-based services can provide substantial productivity gains, and we are pleased to make them available. However, it is important to remember that any recordings, transcriptions, or notes taken during a Zoom session create data that may be subject to regulatory, contractual, or other legal requirements, including potential disclosure under the Maryland Public Information Act. Everyone is encouraged to think carefully about the subject matter to be discussed during each specific Zoom session and consider the risks of potentially creating and storing sensitive data vs. the rewards of using transcription and note-taking technology.
Additionally, the AI services built into Zoom have been reviewed by DIT’s security and privacy teams to ensure they provide appropriate safeguards. However, third-party add-ins for Zoom such as otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, and read.ai do not provide such guarantees, and thus should never be used in Zoom meetings discussing UMD business.
If you have any questions about using UMD Zoom or the new AI Companion service, please contact the IT Service Desk.
-- Adapted from an email to all UMD faculty and staff sent March 27, 2024 and signed by Jeffrey K. Hollingsworth, VP and CIO --