Google’s Bard Extension Claims to Respect Privacy, But Can Users Truly Trust?
In a bold move, Google is urging users to trust that its newest AI development, the Bard extension, will not misuse their personal data while reading their emails. However, given Google’s troubled history with privacy concerns, many users remain skeptical and are hesitant to put their faith in the company’s promises.
The Bard extension is designed to access and summarize users’ emails, including personal documents. In the past, Google has used these emails to train its AI-powered features, but Bard’s product lead, Jack Krawczyk, insists that Gmail and Google Docs will not be used for training purposes or reinforcement learning. Krawczyk emphasizes that opting in to Bard’s use of Gmail does not grant it the ability to store the entire inbox. Instead, on a per-prompt basis, Bard can search for specific information the user requests. Google also asserts that no human reviewers will have access to the emails accessed by Bard.
Google’s track record when it comes to privacy has been far from spotless. The company has built its empire on collecting user data, spanning from search history to location data. On occasion, Google has even been deceptive in its data collection methods. In 2018, an investigation by The Associated Press revealed that Google continued to track users’ location data, despite individuals explicitly turning off location tracking. The company recently settled a $93 million lawsuit regarding its deceptive tracking practices, following a similar settlement of $391 million in November 2022.
Given this controversial history, it is no wonder that users are skeptical about Google’s claims of improved privacy measures with the Bard extension. Can users truly believe that Google has learned its lesson and will not store their data without their consent or even against their will? The consistent pattern of privacy concerns raises doubts among users, who may find it challenging to trust Google’s assurances so readily.
In conclusion, while Google asserts that its Bard extension will respect users’ privacy, the company’s track record in addressing privacy issues raises questions about the veracity of its claims. Users have every right to be skeptical, considering Google’s past misleading practices and lawsuits related to data collection. It remains to be seen whether the Bard extension will truly prioritize transparency, choice, and control as Google promises. For now, users will have to decide for themselves whether they are willing to place their trust in Google once again.
