EU Privacy Watchdog Probes Google’s AI Model

The EU’s privacy watchdog is investigating how Google is using personal data in the development of one of its artificial intelligence models.
The regulator said it is working with partners in the European Economic Area to regulate the processing of personal data belonging to EU users being used in the development of AI models and systems.
Its inquiry will examine whether Google has assessed if PaLM2’s data processing is likely to result in a “high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals” in the EU, the commission said.
The model, which was pre-trained on a “large quantity of webpage, source code, and other datasets,” according to Google, can translate between languages, conduct math tasks, answer questions, and write computer code, among other things.
It marked the first time that the DPC had taken such action, with the watchdog utilizing its powers under Section 134 of the Data Protection Act 2018, it said.
In the same statement, the DPC said it is currently working to address various issues arising from the use of personal data in AI models across the industry and had requested an opinion from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to trigger a discussion on the matter, in the hopes of bringing some “much-needed clarity” to this “complex area.”
The opinion invites the EDPB to consider, amongst other things, the extent to which personal data—including first-party and third-party data—is processed at various stages during the training and operation of an AI model.
The Epoch Times has contacted spokespersons for Google and the Data Protection Commission for further comment.