Google will use information you share online to train its "AI models"

Amid growing concerns about the impact AI tools will have on users’ privacy, Google has updated its privacy policy to announce that the company now reserves the right to use any information users post online to train its AI models. Prior to the recent privacy policy change, Google clarified in its privacy policy that it used public data to train “language” models.

For those who do not know the difference, language models are types of AI models that can analyze and generate natural language text or speech. In contrast, AI models are a broad term and cover a lot of things, from image creation to language processing. AI models can work with various data types, including images, audio, and video. Google carefully uses “AI models” instead of “language models” in its updated privacy policy page.

“For example, we may collect information that’s publicly available online or from other public sources to help train Google’s AI models and build products and features like Google Translate, Bard, and Cloud AI capabilities,” the company wrote in its privacy policy archive page. Previously, the privacy policy mentioned that “language models” would be used to build products like Google Translate. However, this is no longer the case, as Google now goes beyond Google Translate and mentions products like “Bard” and “Cloud AI” capabilities that will be developed using “AI” as the backbone.

ChatGPT developer OpenAI was recently slapped with a class-action lawsuit for using public data to train products like ChatGPT 3.5, GPT 4, DALL-E, and VALL-E. According to EU data protection rules, companies need to take consent from the users before collecting and using their personal data. Critics say OpenAI violated that rule by “illegally” scrapping internet data. Google now has an increased chance of facing a class action lawsuit for the very same reason after the updated privacy policy.

Whether the class action lawsuit will change how companies like Google and OpenAI use internet data to train AI models will be for the courts to decide, but we need to be extra careful about the information we share online.

What do our readers think about Google’s recent changes to its privacy policy page? Let us know in the comments section.