I may not know about your habits, but I practically reside within the Google ecosystem. My Gmail sees frequent checks, my schedule is managed through Google Calendar, and Google is my go-to for information searches. Additionally, I entrust Google Drive with backing up terabytes of my data.
Now, let’s talk about Bard. Our exploration into its AI capabilities has revealed some shortcomings, but the potential is significant. With the backing of the Google Brain Trust, I believe it will evolve beyond being just a contender.
The challenge with large language model AIs like Bard and ChatGPT lies in their extensive data training requirements. An area of concern for me was Bard’s link to the same account as my email, raising worries about its potential insights into my email correspondence.
As evident from the blue box featured in the screenshot, “Your interactions [with Bard] undergo evaluation by human reviewers to enhance the technologies supporting Bard. Avoid inputting anything you wouldn’t want subject to review or utilization.”
If you select “How it works,” you’ll find a reassuring piece of information. According to Google:
Your Google Workspace content, such as from Gmail or Drive, is not examined or utilized to enhance Bard.
However, there’s no need to overly worry about your privacy. You have the option to disable both human review and machine analysis of your conversations with Bard. Here’s the process:
On the upper right corner of the Bard screen, click on the small Clock icon, also known as the Activities icon:
Next, locate the option labelled "Bard activity" and select the "Turn Off" button.
You will receive a prominent message box indicating that the "Activity is Off."
Your process is complete. When you navigate to the Bard screen, you will observe this message on the left:
As long as this message is displayed, Bard is not recording your conversations.
If you wish to resume recording, click on the "Bard Activity is off" link. You will then have the option to re-enable activity tracking.
Disabling activity on Bard does result in the loss of some features. However, it also eliminates the persistent concern that your inquiries, such as “What songs resemble the 1987 Rick Astley song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’?” might be shared with Google.
