Google’s call-scanning AI could dial up censorship by default, privacy experts warn
A feature Google demoed at its I/O confab yesterday, using its generative AI technology to scan voice calls in real time for conversational patterns associated with financial scams, has sent a collective shiver down the spines of privacy and security experts who are warning the feature represents the thin end of the wedge. They warn that, once client-side scanning is baked into mobile infrastructure, it could usher in an era of centralized censorship.
Google’s demo of the call scam-detection feature, which the tech giant said would be built into a future version of its Android OS — estimated to run on some three-quarters of the world’s smartphones — is powered by Gemini Nano, the smallest of its current generation of AI models meant to run entirely on-device.
This is essentially client-side scanning: A nascent technology that’s generated huge controversy in recent years in relation to efforts to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or even grooming activity on messaging platforms.
