While Google's AI helper Bard is presently available in 180 countries worldwide, the European Union and Canada have yet to be invited to the AI party. Almost two months after the launch of Google's friendly AI chatbot, Bard, the firm is still denying access to specific countries, although no formal comment has been issued.
The best prediction is that Google will disagree with certain forthcoming requirements, not to mention that its methods may already be illegal under current GDPR restrictions.
The EU's forthcoming AI Act is now making its way through the European Parliament in an attempt to drive current and prospective AI developers to make their products more transparent and safe for the general public. According to Wired, after speaking with various experts on the subject, Google is secretly stamping its feet over the minutiae of the act.
Even in its current version, Bard does not quite fit the bill when it comes to the EU's internet safety standards. According to Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at Access Now, in the Wired post, "There's a lingering question whether these very large data sets, that have been collected more or less by indiscriminate scraping, have a sufficient legal basis under the GDPR."
Aside from present legislation, the far more specific and stringent AI Act expected to be enacted in mid-June is likely to have a big impact on how Google's AI tool operates.
Once passed, the measure will impose even more limits on tools that could be "misused and provide novel and powerful tools for manipulative, exploitative, and social control practices," as stated in the official AI Act proposal. There are special references for specific human rights, such as the right to human dignity, respect for private and family life, personal data protection, and the right to an effective remedy... all of this and more will be taken into account when labeling an AI "high-risk."
Looking at today's AI tools, I can't think of any that don't have the potential to infringe on at least one of those rights. It's a terrible concept, but it makes sense why Google could be having problems with Bard.
After all, as The Register points out, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Canada have all expressed interest in ChatGPT (and probably a slew of other AI-based applications) due to privacy concerns around user data. The AIDA proposal from Canada, which will "come into force no sooner than 2025," clearly demands transparency in AI development as well.
According to Google's AI principles, the company will not pursue the following:
- Technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm. Where there is a material risk of harm, we will proceed only where we believe that the benefits substantially outweigh the risks, and will incorporate appropriate safety constraints.
- Weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people.
- Technologies that gather or use the information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms.
- Technologies whose purpose contravenes widely accepted principles of international law and human rights.
It's a brief list with some ambiguity, such as the usage of terms like "widely" and "internationally accepted norms." It's uncertain whether the backend will ever entirely conform to EU and Canadian law, but the phrase here could be a clever method of utilizing a little wiggle room.
So, is Google attempting to make a point by withholding Bard? Potentially. Nicolas Mos, The Future Society's European AI governance director, appears to believe so. According to Mos, Google may be attempting to "send a message to MEPs just before the AI Act is approved, hoping to steer votes and make policymakers think twice before attempting to govern foundation models." Mos also mentions that Meta has opted not to release their AI chatbot, BlenderBot, in the EU. So it's not only Google being cautious (or dishonest).
It's also possible that the big boys are hoarding their toys since getting sued isn't much fun. In any case, Europeans and Canadians alike will be stuck staring wistfully at Bard's list of accessible nations until Google issues an official comment.
