Google’s AI model is in EU regulator’s crosshairs

European Union regulators said Thursday they’re investigating one of Google’s artificial intelligence models over concerns about its compliance with the bloc’s strict data privacy rules.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said it has opened an inquiry into Google’s Pathways Language Model 2, also known as PaLM2. It’s part of wider efforts, including by other national watchdogs across the 27-nation bloc, to scrutinize how AI systems handle personal data.

Google’s European headquarters are based in Dublin, so the Irish watchdog acts as the company’s lead regulator for the bloc’s privacy rulebook, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR.

The commission said it wants to know if Google has assessed whether PaLM2’s data processing would likely result in a “high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals” in the EU.

Large language models like PaLM2 are vast troves of data that act as building blocks for artificial intelligence systems. Google uses PaLM2 to power a range of generative AI services including email summarizing. The company said it would assist with the watchdog’s inquiry.

“We take seriously our obligations under the GDPR and will work constructively with the DPC to answer their questions,” Google said in a statement.

The Irish watchdog said earlier this month that Elon Musk’s social media platform X has agreed to permanently stop processing user data for its AI chatbot Grok. The platform did so only after the watchdog took it to court the month before, filing an urgent High Court application to get X to “suspend, restrict or prohibit” processing of personal data contained in public posts by its users.

Meta Platforms paused its plans to use content posted by European users to train the latest version of its large language model after apparent pressure from the Irish regulators. The decision “followed intensive engagement” between the two, the watchdog said in June.

Italy’s data privacy regulator last year temporarily banned ChatGPT because of data privacy breaches and demanded the chatbot’s maker OpenAI meet a set of demands to resolve its concerns.

—Kelvin Chan, AP Business Writer

https://www.fastcompany.com/91189547/googles-ai-model-eu-regulators-crosshairs?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Created 4mo | Sep 12, 2024, 3:50:04 PM


Login to add comment

Other posts in this group

Meta’s Threads is finally getting ads

Threads, Meta’s X and Bluesky rival, is testing ads with certain brands in the United States and Japan, the company said Friday.

“We know there will be plenty of feedback abo

Jan 24, 2025, 8:10:07 PM | Fast company - tech
How the broligarchy is imitating Trump in more ways than one

Sooner or later, the politicians who most admire Donald Trump begin to emulate him. They

Jan 24, 2025, 5:50:03 PM | Fast company - tech
We need to put human creativity at the center of adtech

I’ve been searching for the words to describe my feelings towards the current state of adtech. Terms like “stale,” “stagnant,” and “boring” are among the

Jan 24, 2025, 1:20:02 PM | Fast company - tech
How dangerous are 3D printers? Maybe enough for a background check

As 3D-printed gun violence abounds, some lawmakers are looking to cut the problem at the root. 

The New York state senate is currently evaluating a bill that would dramatically chan

Jan 24, 2025, 10:50:04 AM | Fast company - tech
A new Instagram feature might expose your embarrassing habits

Instagram Reels has added a new feature that shows you a feed of videos that your friends have liked. The bad news: It works both ways, meaning your friends can now see every video you’ve liked.&n

Jan 23, 2025, 9:10:04 PM | Fast company - tech
Subaru security vulnerability exposed millions of cars to tracking risks

Two security researchers discovered a security vulnerability in Subaru’s Starlink-connected vehicles last year that gave them “unrestricted targeted access to all vehicles and customer

Jan 23, 2025, 9:10:03 PM | Fast company - tech
OpenAI’s new Operator is a step into AI’s agentic future

OpenAI announced on Thursday a research preview of Operator, an AI agent that can browse the web and perform tasks for the user. Operat

Jan 23, 2025, 9:10:02 PM | Fast company - tech