Google has removed the waitlist for the Google Bard, which was announced at the I/O Developer conference. It’s available in 180+ countries. Despite this, users must sign in to beta testing as it’s still in development, and many of its features are still experimental. However, because of regulatory concerns, Google Bard’s chatbot isn’t available in Canada or Europe. Before proceeding, we’d like to mention that the EU and Canada have very strict regulations on AI, and before rolling it out to Canada or the EU, they want to ensure that Bard meets these regulations.
The company is responsibly working around and continues to be helpful and engaged partners to regulators as they navigate these new technologies together. We’d also like to note that Italy banned ChatGPT last month, another AI language module, over privacy and data collection worries. The company has yet to share any timeline for when Google Bard will be available in Canada or the EU, which gives individuals more control over their data.
Google Bard, Conversation AI assistant, and Skipping EU and Canada due to regulatory concerns.
Canadian lawmakers recently introduced legislation to regulate AI, and Google is likely working to ensure that Bard meets these regulations before it is released in these markets. Working to address these concerns and make Bard available in the EU as soon as possible, it must also be said that Google must report data breaches to data protection authorities within 72 hours. Google is committed to Bard’s global availability, and these laws regulate how online service providers deal with the data of EU citizens.
However, users can use a VPN to connect to a server in a country where Bard is available, and for this, there are different VPN providers to choose from, both paid and free. After connecting to a VPN server, you can access Google Bard as usual. Microsoft’s Bing Chatbot is also available in the EU and can be used in Germany and other EU countries without restrictions.
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive privacy law that gives individuals control over their data. GDPR requires companies to obtain consent before collecting or using personal data and take steps to protect the data from unauthorized access or use. These facts, combined with Bard’s broad availability, suggest that Google is trying to avoid any fines and wants to get its encounter regulated, as AIDA could introduce penalties of up to 3% of a company’s revenue, or $10 million. On the other hand, Canada’s lawmakers have the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), a similar law to GDPR, a comprehensive privacy law that gives individuals control over their data.
Also, recently introduced legislation aimed at regulating AI and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA) have released new laws setting out a framework for the development and use of AI in Canada. AIDA requires all companies to assess the risks associated with their AI systems, including Google’s Bard. AIDA asks for transparency, risk management, monitoring, data anonymization, and record practices around AI and accountability in the development and use of AI.
More updates on PaLM 2 Generative AI capabilities for Workspace, and new AI products and developments are coming. This new AI model aims to compete with OpenAI’s GPT-4 model. The company has also introduced the Google Bard extension, AI-Generated Images, with a first-party extension from Adobe to create AI-generated images directly in Bard AI. More extensions are coming from OpenTable, ZipRecruiter, Instacart, Wolfram, Khan Academy, and Kayak.