Google is bringing AI everywhere, and we really mean that. The company has decided to offer AI for businesses and consumers. There will be AI in its Messages app as well in the form of Bard that will bring ChatGPT-like features for Android users. Think of it like an AI assistant within your messaging app.
However, like every AI tool out there, Google’s latest AI push also has a big caveat. New report this week hints at Google’s shady practice of training its AI and that involves a major privacy breach of its users.
Bard will reportedly analyse the private content of the messages, which is supposedly going to help the AI assistant with better understanding of the content and even the tone of the message that you are sending. The new report here gives the scary details.
We all can agree AI personalisation means the assistant needs to match the mood of your response based on who you are chatting with. And for that the AI will also try to understand your relationship with the contact by reading through the message history as well, which is another major red flag.
It is unlikely that Google is securing messages behind end-to-end encryption which is again a major drawback of having AI-centric applications and features that need data to train and learn your patterns, interests and even your messaging style.
Google’s track record with data is contentious and this development once again brings the matter of user privacy back into the spotlight. You can also refer to the likes of Apple taking their time in making the big AI waves and it is likely that the company will keep privacy at the top of its to-do list.
Reports say Apple will take its time with AI but at least make sure that all the processing is done on-device which gives it better credibility than sharing data/content through server for further research and training. Google will have to face the tough questions as more of its products get the AI treatment and privacy experts will be waiting to see its overall strategy to tackle these concerns.
