Thousands of PokemonGo users feel tricked into building Niantic's massive image database. Big tech attempts to crisis manage the software as a tool for "logistics". That, it turns out, is not true.

Over the weekend, viral social media posts have amplified reporting that Niantic, the developer of PokemonGo, is using its acquired database of over 30 Billion crowdsourced images of the world to power "visual navigation for delivery robots." Thousands of users are rightfully outraged of unwittingly having to help train what appear to be AI models, as big tech proponents attempt to downplay the implications.

But the reports omit that Niantic has sold its gaming division in 2025 and rebranded the remaining company as Niantic Spatial: a firm developing a large geospatial model allowing for centimeter-accurate navigation that is selling its services to major US Defense contractors.

Given Niantic founders' history of developing technology for the US military intelligence complex, it may be worth asking whether the outrage over Niantic's robot training plans may have been averted had the media adequately reported on the history of the developers of a gaming app that millions of people unwittingly installed on their phones.

...read more at therage.co