“Google Employs In-Device AI to Unmask Text Scammers and Investment Tricksters”

“Google Is Using On-Device AI to Spot Scam Texts and Investment Fraud”

“At Google’s developer conference Tuesday, the company showed off a new feature called Smart Reply, which uses machine learning to suggest three responses to emails you receive. It’s a cool idea, but it’s not exactly novel—Google’s Inbox app has been doing it for two years, and the company also recently added it to its Allo messaging app. What sets this new feature apart, though, is that it’s built into Gmail, where it can provide a much-needed assist for the 1 billion people who use the service.”

Whoop-de-doo Google, you’ve given the world ‘Smart Reply’. Isn’t it fabulous, we don’t even have to strain our brains anymore to respond to our emails. This marvel of machine learning will offer us a choice of three possible responses to every email we receive, isn’t that just grand. Just bear in mind that similar functionality has been serving Google’s Inbox app users for the past two years, and was also added to the Allo messaging app recently. What’s the new twist you ask? Well, it’s now integrated into Gmail, so all 1 billion users can indulge in this mindless pleasure.

The article at hand also informs us, “Beyond Gmail, Google is also using its AI capabilities to weed out phishing and spam. The company’s new security feature identifies suspicious links in an email and warns the user before they click.” Now isn’t that lovely? AI powered security, like a modern-day knight in shining armor protecting all Gmail users from the villainous scam artists. Oh wait… don’t most email servers already have this feature? Ah, never mind, let’s all praise Google for reinventing the wheel.

The article goes on, “Additionally, Google will apply its AI on-device too, which means that tasks will be processed on the machine you’re using rather than transmitted to, crunched by, and sent back from a Google server.” Basically, Google’s new AI tool will process your data locally, on your very own device. Instead of shipping all your data overseas (well, not literally, but you get the drift) to a distant server, it’ll all be done right under your nose. Thanks, but pretty sure privacy experts have been harping on about this for years.

Oh, the wonders of modern technology! It’s as if every new development is greeted with wide-eyed fascination, regardless of whether it’s a revolutionary leap forward or not. Too bad the same level of enthusiasm isn’t applied to everything else in life. One can only imagine how much better the world would be if we got as excited about reusable shopping bags as we do about the latest ‘innovations’ from tech giants like Google.

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/google-io-on-device-ai-scam-texts/