Google unveiled an artificial intelligence search feature called the Search Generative Experience (SGE) at the I/O Conference on Wednesday.
According to Google, SGE represents its “first steps in this new era of Search.” The new feature will be rolled out in the U.S. in the coming weeks to gather feedback before a global release.
Amid the excitement about Google’s AI-powered search, questions linger about privacy and security. Google has a chequered history of taking liberties with users’ privacy, and there are concerns that SGE will only exacerbate this problem.
As our experts have noted, Google knows a lot about you. The company collects vast amounts of user data to deliver targeted ads.
The company has reiterated its commitment to protecting users’ privacy over the years. But, as the world’s top search engine, the company’s AI systems will have access to an unprecedented amount of user data.
This could have far-reaching implications for individuals and businesses. For example, this may allow Google to profile users more effectively. Also, there’s the ever-present possibility that sensitive data could fall into the wrong hands.
How This May Affect Your Privacy and Security
Large language models — like ChatGPT — are trained on user data. Google’s SGE is built on various large language models (LLMs), including MUM (Multitask Unified Model) and PaLM2. When Google’s SGE “talks” to users, it will add the information it gathers to its knowledge base and will most likely also record users’ inputs.
Considering Google’s poor track record for privacy and cybersecurity, this is cause for concern — especially if users share private or confidential information with the search engine.
There are many instances of Google violating users’ privacy. In 2021, the company fired 80 members of its staff for mishandling user data. And in November 2022, Google was fined nearly $400 million for unlawfully collecting users’ location data without their knowledge for several years.
We’ve been tracking the AI space for quite a while, and there are still many questions to be answered. Will Google be transparent about how it collects and uses data for its SGE? How will the SGE comply with stringent data protection laws like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?
In April, the UK’s central data watchdog warned companies generating and using AI systems to comply with data protection laws or face the consequences.
We also think that cybersecurity will become an even bigger concern. The data of billions of users could be compromised if hackers target Google’s AI systems. During the RSA Conference in April, U.S. officials warned that foreign actors are targeting AI systems.
“We are seeing it in their foreign investment decisions where they are no longer going after the bricks and mortar assets, but now the assets that they are going after are data sets, algorithms, and software,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.
Meanwhile, Google has said it is actively working on testing its AI systems via adversarial and red-team exercises, which can help to identify potential privacy and security red flags.
QUICK TIP:
Based on our extensive testing, using a VPN is the best way to protect your personal information from being collected and used by generative AI platforms. A reliable VPN such as NordVPN can protect your data, including your IP address, so companies can’t use this to create a “profile” on you.
Google’s SGE Features
Google illustrated the abilities of its AI-powered search engine in a blog post on Wednesday. With SGE, users will get an AI snapshot, useful links, suggest next steps, and the ability to ask follow-up questions. Google also revealed that context “will be carried over from question to question, to help you more naturally continue your exploration.”
“With new breakthroughs in generative AI, we’re again reimagining what a search engine can do. With this powerful new technology, we can unlock entirely new types of questions you never thought Search could answer, and transform the way information is organized, to help you sort through and make sense of what’s out there,” Google said.
SGE follows Google’s unveiling of its AI chatbot Bard — a rival to ChatGPT. The key difference between Google’s AI-powered search tool and ChatGPT is that the SGE’s knowledge base is not limited; it will have access to both new and older content.
Protecting Your Privacy While Using AI-Powered Tools
You don’t have to sacrifice your privacy to access AI tools. There are ways to protect your privacy while using Google’s SGE. Among other things, we recommend signing up for a Google account with a private email service like ProtonMail.
Alternatively, ensure you’re not signed in to your Google account when searching for things online. And avoid sharing personal or confidential information with these AI systems.
For added protection, we highly recommend using a virtual private network (VPN) to anonymize your traffic. A good VPN will hide your location and prevent Google from tracking you across the web. We’ve tested dozens of VPNs over the years. Check out our article on the five best VPNs for our top picks.
Interested in Google Bard?
Our article on how to use Google Bard from any country in the world might be interesting for you.
