Google changed its privacy policy to reflect Bard AI’s data collecting, and we’re spooked
Google has updated its privacy policy to explicitly state that publicly available online data is used to train its AI models, including Bard. This revision clarifies that the scope of data collection extends beyond specific products like Google Translate to encompass a broader array of large language models. The change serves as a formal confirmation that user-generated public content is harvested to refine these AI systems, highlighting the transparent yet aggressive data acquisition strategies employed by major technology firms. The broader implications involve significant concerns regarding privacy, plagiarism, and the spread of misinformation. By treating any publicly posted information as fair game for training, Google bypasses traditional consent mechanisms for individual creators. This raises ethical questions about the ownership of digital content and the potential for AI-generated outputs to mimic or repurpose human work without attribution. Consequently, users have little recourse to opt out, forcing a debate on where boundaries should lie in the digital age. This development is crucial for open data discussions as it illustrates the tension between data accessibility and intellectual property rights in the context of machine learning. While open data advocates emphasize the value of widespread information availability, this corporate practice demonstrates how public data can be monopolized by private entities to build proprietary technologies. It underscores the need for clearer frameworks that balance innovation with creator rights, as tech giants continue to prioritize competitive advantage over ethical considerations in their data scraping practices.
Source: techradar.comPublished on 2023-07-07