Artificial Intelligence Takes Over the Internet... and Personal Data

SadaNews - At the beginning of the new year, millions of users were surprised when they logged into their Google email account, finding a tool they had not subscribed to, as Google’s smart assistant, Gemini, summarised their emails.

AI Takeover

This shift seemed reminiscent of what happened two years ago, when the company started displaying AI summaries or automatic responses to users' questions at the top of Google search results, with no option to disable them.

The tactics of Google mirrored how Meta deployed its own chatbot: Meta AI, which became an indelible tool within apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

The impact of this AI takeover has been subtle yet significant. The internet began to appear different for everyone, with personalized ads, custom-designed suggestions, and unique product prices based on what users say to chatbots. Typically, there is no option to stop their operation.

The User Has No Say

In other words, the tech industry is creating an internet customized just for you, but you have no say in it.

Sasha Lucioni, a researcher specializing in AI ethics at Hugging Face, states: "These tools are marketed to us as more powerful, but our options to control them are limited. The onus is on us to opt out, which is complicated. And it is often unclear what we should do to opt out. "

Innovative "Smart Assistant"

Companies claim they focus on innovating the best "assistant" (an AI-supported assistant capable of composing emails, booking flight tickets, and conducting research) to empower users. They argue that generative AI is incredibly flexible and adaptive, enabling everyone to have a unique internet experience through a digital assistant that meets their needs.

Americans' Concerns Outweigh Their Enthusiasm

This strategy employed by the tech industry to impose AI on everyone contradicts the views of many users. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center last spring showed that Americans, in general, are more concerned than enthusiastic about the use of AI in their daily lives; the majority expressed a desire for more control over how this technology is used.

However, Google reported in a statement that users found AI-powered search more useful, prompting them to return for more searches. The company added that it provides a "Web" tab on Google.com to filter AI-generated search results, but users only use it in a very small percentage of searches.

For its part, Meta explained that users can choose to interact with its AI assistant within their apps. Nevertheless, it will be difficult for most users to avoid interacting with the AI, as the AI assistant is an integral part of the search tool in some apps, including Instagram.

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Companies -in secret- are establishing the foundations of a "smart" digital advertising economy that may shape the future of the internet.

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Profiting from Targeted Ads

This insistence on using AI everywhere -with limited or no options to disable it- raises an important question about the benefits to internet companies. AI-powered chatbots, like Gemini, and OpenAI's ChatGPT, are extremely costly to operate and have not generated direct profits for companies through subscription fees, as many users benefit from their free features.

Thus, companies are secretly laying the groundwork for a digital advertising economy that could shape the internet's future. The underlying technology that enables chatbots to write articles and create images for consumers is being used by advertisers to find target audiences, automatically customizing ads and discounts. Anyone who does not adapt to this evolution -like small brands and online retailers- might be lost amid the noise of AI.

Free Chat Programs for Promoting Goods and Services

Last month, OpenAI announced that it would start displaying ads in the free version of ChatGPT, derived from users' questions to the chatbot and previous search queries.

In response, an executive at Google mocked OpenAI, adding that Google does not plan to display ads within its chatbot Gemini. However, what wasn’t pointed out is that Google, which significantly derives its profits from online ads, displays ads on Google.com based on user interactions with the AI-powered chatbot integrated into its search engine.

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The interactive chat interface encourages users to voluntarily share their personal data.

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Bypassing the Law: Breaching Data Privacy Again

As regulatory bodies have tightened restrictions on data privacy over the past six years, tech giants and the online advertising sector have abandoned tracking user activities across mobile apps and websites aimed at determining suitable ads for them. Companies like Meta and Google have been forced to innovate ways to target users with relevant ads without sharing their personal data with external marketing entities.

However, when AI-backed chatbots like ChatGPT emerged about four years ago, companies saw a prime opportunity: the interactive chat interface encouraged users to voluntarily share their personal data, such as hobbies, health status, and products they are searching for.

This strategy appears to be bearing fruit. Online search activities across the sector, including Google and Bing -the two browsers that have integrated AI-powered chatbots into their search tools- have surged. This is largely because users are directing more questions and inquiries to search engines that use chatbots, revealing their intentions and interests much more clearly than if they were typing just a few keywords for traditional searches.

Intrusive and Suspicious Ads

Experts state that using chatbots to assist companies in gathering more detailed and accurate information about individuals’ interests makes modern forms of digital advertising seem more intrusive and suspicious.

Moreover, information gleaned from conversations with Google’s AI, in addition to other data, may ultimately influence product prices that different people see.

Last month, Google unveiled an AI-powered shopping tool developed in collaboration with retail companies like Shopify, Target, and Walmart.

Lindsey Owens, Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative -a nonprofit focused on economic issues- described Google’s AI-powered shopping framework as an example of "surveillance capitalism" that could ultimately be used to encourage people to spend more.

This new technology may help merchants automatically set prices for their products based on information consumers share with the chatbot, such as their personal budget, alongside other data sources. However, Google announced that it prevents retailers from inflating prices presented in search results.

Browsers with Controls Over the "Smart Assistant"

Smaller competitors of Google and Meta have criticized the limited control users have over how they use AI, including Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, and the privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo.

This month, Mozilla announced that the new version of Firefox will include a wide range of controls to activate or deactivate AI features. Anthony 인조르-디미우, CEO of Mozilla, stated that the risk of widespread AI deployment diminishes the openness of the internet; as only the most privileged users can pay subscription fees to benefit from the most powerful models.

He added, "AI is changing how people browse the internet, so Firefox and Mozilla must keep pace with this change, but that doesn't mean we should adopt an approach that alienates or irritates users. "

Last month, DuckDuckGo launched a version of its search engine that filters out any results containing AI-generated images. The company asked users whether they wanted to use AI or not. About 90 percent of participants voted "no to AI."

Global Footprints of Google and Meta

Yet, even if smaller companies provide ways to disable AI in their products, it will remain challenging to avoid AI embedded in the products of Google and Meta, whose footprints extend to nearly everyone’s life through services such as email, word processing, texting, and social media apps.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, stated during a recent earnings call that 3.58 billion people, or about 44 percent of the world's population, use at least one of Meta's products daily, while Google maintained its share of the global search market at about 90 percent.