Google Buys Spirit Airlines Data for $10 Million AI Training

Google has acquired Spirit Airlines' internal records for $10 million to train its AI models. The dataset includes 175,658 employee records dating back to 1986, as well as millions of time cards, payroll entries, tax forms, and communications across Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint.

The Association of Flight Attendants has expressed concerns about the privacy risks for former employees, citing the potential for reidentification through contextual clues. Employee data was not excluded from the sale despite promises to deidentify records.

Without enforceable rights, former Spirit employees may be left vulnerable if sensitive information is compromised within the dataset.