The Zoom name change rejecting AI recording

Posted at 2:20 p.m. PDT on July 17, 2026.

Image credit: Ysr Dora / Getty Images

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VC Jeremy Levine has a pointed response to the growing use of AI transcription tools in meetings: On Zoom, he has changed his name to “Jeremy Levine I do not consent to transcribing or recording.”

Levine’s workaround, reported by The Wall Street Journal in a story about AI note-taking apps, may seem petty or practical. Either way, it reflects how routine recording has become. A growing number of apps and devices can capture, transcribe, and summarize conversations, including meetings that participants may not realize are being recorded.

VC Eric Bahn told the Journal that he now assumes meetings with founders will be recorded before anyone places a phone on the table. One founder said she records most of her first dates with the Granola app, then sends the transcript to Claude to evaluate whether she was more “engaging or empathetic” and determine who did most of the talking.

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Levine described the trend as “socially unacceptable behavior” that can destroy spontaneous conversation. Other people quoted in the report pointed to the legal risks, which vary depending on the jurisdiction and whether everyone has consented.

There is also a practical limit to the idea of recording everything. If meetings, watercooler conversations, and romantic outings are all transcribed and summarized, someone still has to read or listen to the resulting archive. The convenience of an always-on memory could become an audio landfill—an enormous collection of recordings that nobody has time to revisit.