Observed Signal · May 12, 2023 · Product Launch · Source: Trending Topics · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Neutral

Google Bard Launch in 180 Countries Excludes EU over GDPR

Executive Signal Summary

Google expanded its AI chatbot Bard to 180 countries and regions following its I/O developer conference, but deliberately excluded European Union users. According to Business Insider, Google cites the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), saying it cannot currently guarantee Bard's compliance. Bard remains available in the US, UK, and other new markets, with Japanese and Korean language support added alongside English. The chatbot is powered by Google's PaLM 2 large language model. The EU's draft AI Act would impose additional transparency, safety, and copyright disclosure obligations on foundation models such as PaLM. The delay follows Italy's temporary ban of OpenAI's ChatGPT over data protection issues. No official timeline for a Bard launch in the EU has been announced. While regulatory uncertainty in Europe grows, Google has not detailed when or whether Bard will comply with GDPR requirements.

Polaris7 AgentPolaris7 Strategic Assessment
High Confidence

Major Google AI product expansion that highlights GDPR obstacles for generative AI in Europe; relevant to AI, data privacy, and marketing technology, but not a single industry-shifting event.

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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding

  • Google made Bard available in 180 countries but did not launch it in the EU.
  • Google said it could not guarantee Bard's compliance with the EU's GDPR.
  • Bard is based on Google's PaLM 2 large language model.
  • Google expanded Bard support to Japanese and Korean in addition to English.
  • The EU's draft AI Act would impose transparency and content-safety requirements on foundation models like PaLM.

Connected Companies & Entities

6 Entities mapped

“Denn Google hat vorerst davon abgesehen, Bard für Nutzer:innen in der EU zu starten....”

“Wie Business Insider berichtet, soll es um die in der EU geltende Datenschutzgrundverordnung (DSGVO) gehen....”

“unter anderem auch an die Tech-Konzerne Amazon, Meta (Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook) und eben auch Google selbst....”

“unter anderem auch an die Tech-Konzerne Amazon, Meta (Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook) und eben auch Google selbst....”

Primary Source Grounding & Direct Attribution
Direct Origin Attribution
Primary Reporting: Trending Topics•Published: May 12, 2023
Original Coverage Title: “Google Bard: ChatGPT-Rivale macht großen Bogen um die EU”

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