Google introduces Smart functions based on artificial intelligence in Gmail. More efficiency, but also doubts about privacy and control of personal data.
Soon, opening gmailthe millions of users registered in the Google service will find An important question to answerwhich will sound more or less like this: “Do you want to activate the new smart features based on artificial intelligence?”. The simple message will arrive together with a change in the privacy settings, which will ask to decide whether to allow your electronic box to analyze personal data to offer advanced and new generation tools. In case of refusal, you can still use Gmail in the current version. It is therefore not a notification, as sometimes, not very significant: the choice will influence directly The way each user will use the service and, above all, how much his online activity will be monitored. Google’s goal is to make the experience more efficient, but not without costs in terms of confidentiality.
What happens if you say yes
Who accepts Activate new featuresenable the use of advanced tools such as the Intelligent research, The suggestions of Automatic response (Smart Reply) and the Assisted writing (Smart composed). In addition, the system improves Gmail’s ability of Recognize and filter spam, scams or deceptive advertising. To do this, however, Google will have to analyze the content of e-mails in a deeper, as well as i behavior and the habits of use of each user. The promise is that of a more box fast, clean And usefulcapable of anticipating what you are looking for or wanting to write. It must be said that these data, according to Google, will not come used to show personalized advertising Inside the mailbox – as already happens – but they will still be able to help build a Overall advertising profile through other services that the Mountain View giant makes available to its users.
What happens if you say no
Who decides to do not activate these features, Instead, he will keep Gmail in his current forms: can send and receive e-mails as always, but without the most advanced tools. The research could be less precise, continuing to adopt algorithms more obsoleteand automatic responses will not appear. Finally, also the Spam management will remain “manual”. On the other hand, Google will analyze the messages much less to a much smallest extent: neither content nor metadata will be used to train artificial intelligence. It is a choice more oriented towards privacy protectionsuitable for those who want to maintain close control over their digital information.
Of course, it involves some renunciation in terms of attractive comfort and automation, But it offers greater confidentiality in return.
The crucial question: privacy
The novelty will be gradually introduced, As per practice, and was announced at a time when the relationship between IA and privacy is increasingly in the spotlight. While technologies based on algorithms They become more powerful every day, the fear also grows that The collection of data so strictly personal takes place too invasively. On the other hand, Google leverages that defense systems based on artificial intelligence are now essential to protect users from increasingly sophisticated threats. Just the Californian giant declares, for example, that Thanks to these advanced systems, they manage to block over 99% of phishing attempts. In the end, the decision will be up to every single member of the service: a more smart, but less private, or more reserved Gmail, but less in step with the times?
