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The G7 Expresses Concern over AI – The data protection and privacy authorities of the United States, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan met in Tokyo on June 20 & 21. These G7 officials prioritized their discussion around the quickly developing artificial intelligence (AI) models known as generative AI. These models like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft Bing Chat have the members concerned. In a draft statement on the G7 officials warn, “We recognize that there are growing concerns that generative AI may present risks and potential harms to privacy, data protection, and other fundamental human rights if not properly developed and regulated.” But this is not the first time the G7 nations have addressed the AI issue. In April of this year the members laid out what is called the ‘Hiroshima Process’ to align on preventing disinformation and promoting responsible use of the technology, among other topics. The Hiroshima process hopes to create and promote a voluntary Code of Conduct on generative AI that the European Commission is developing with the United States and other G7 nations. The code of conduct, still in its draft form, calls on AI developers to implement security safeguards that cannot be circumvented, ensure personal data is accurate, complete, and free from discriminatory effects, and be transparent enough to explain how the model works. In addition, the G7 is urging generative AI creators and providers to create technical and organizational measures to ensure data subjects can exercise their rights under applicable privacy laws. These are noble and appropriate goals but lack the force of law. But we may not need wait long. The EU is on the verge of adopting the world’s first comprehensive legislation on AI. Will the law align with the G7 goals? https://bit.ly/44mR1NS

G7 data protection authorities point to key concerns on generative AI The privacy watchdogs of the G7 countries are set to detail a common vision of the data protection challenges of generative AI models like ChatGPT, according to a draft statement seen by EURACTIV.

AI on Hold – We have posted in the past about the various privacy risks associated with language trained AI models. Most of the news has been about OpenAI’s chatbot known as ChatGPT. But ChatGPT is not the only game in town. Search giant Google has its own version known as Bard and Microsoft has a product called Bing Chat. Last week we posted about how Bard was collecting geolocation data, “to provide, improve, and develop Google products and services and machine learning technologies.” Some in the privacy community pushed back on Google advising users of the privacy risks. These privacy risks have caught the attention of the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC). Last week, the DPC paused the launch of Bard in the European Union (EU) saying that Google had not provided sufficient information about how Bard protects EU citizens privacy. Bard, already available in 180 other countries including the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) but has so far not made the tool available in mainland Europe for EU member countries. A Google spokesperson said, “We said in May that we wanted to make Bard more widely available, including in the European Union, and that we would do so responsibly, after engagement with experts, regulators and policymakers." Apparently, the consultation is taking longer than Google had hoped. When will Bard deploy to the EU? With no transparency from the DPC any guess would be wild speculation. https://politi.co/3qVVVmI

Google forced to postpone Bard chatbot’s EU launch over privacy concerns The Irish privacy watchdog said the tech giant has given insufficient information about how it will respect the EU’s data privacy rules.

Can You Tell Me Where You Are? When talking to a friend on a mobile phone this seems like an innocuous question. But, when asked by AI chatbot, it might seem a bit creepy. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been at the top of the news recently. AI promises to make our lives easier, respond to problems more quickly, and solve deep mysteries that have confounded scientists for decades. But does an AI chatbot really need to know your location? Yes, and no, depending on the circumstances. Google’s AI chatbot known as Bard recently began asking users to share specific geolocation data when using the service. Why? According to Google, Bard asks for this information, “to provide, improve, and develop Google products and services and machine learning technologies, including Google’s enterprise products such as Google Cloud.” While we all want improved products and services, some privacy advocates are sounding a warning bell about the location requests. Sarah Myers West, the managing director at the AI Now Institute, says, “There’s a whole host of reasons to be concerned about the security of location data and its implications for the privacy of users of the system.” What are the risks? Beyond sharing the location data with law enforcement, leaks of the data could lead to stalking and other types of harassment by those who have access to the data. Sharing any personal data with an AI chatbot can be risky, but geolocation data seems especially sensitive. Would you give up your location to a chatbot? Why or why not? Share your answer in the comments below. https://bit.ly/3NrqVng

AI chatbots want your geolocation data. Privacy experts say beware. Sharing any form of personal data with generative AI models can be risky, privacy experts say.