Nearly half the planet uses Google and confides in the tech company to keep their data safe and secure. Apart from its popular search engine, Google provides other popular products and services which have long haunted the company on account of data breaches, leaks, and privacy scandals that have become commonplace since the infamous 2018 Google+ API breach. 

In 2023, the company made sure its ‘bold and responsible’ approach remains at the centre stage during all its events. Within the first eight months, Google has already released 49 security blogs with the maximum (13) in the month of May. Each blog introduced a bunch of updates varying from AI-powered projects to its AndroidOS. 

At the Google I/O alone, the company announced 11 new security updates majorly focused on AI and its large language models. The updates included a Safe Browsing API (which uses AI to identify and alert users about unsafe sites to avoid scams), and a similar tool for users to know if their data is being misused on the dark web. 

The Next security overhaul

Yesterday, at Google Cloud’s conference Next ’23, Sunil Potti, general manager and VP of Cloud security revealed GCP’s security strategy. The announcements build on Security AI Workbench (that leverages a security-specific large language model (LLM) from Google, Sec-PaLM) which the company released in April. 

Potti said the new strategy is built on three pillars: leveraging Mandiant expertise, infusing security into Google Cloud innovations and making expertise available for various environments. “The ongoing challenges in security include evolving threat landscapes, increasing number of security vendors and tools, and scarcity of security talent,” he said and further explained the potential generative AI holds to address those challenges. The announcement involves the technology’s applications in different security pillars: security workbench, chronicle’s security operations, and cloud security console.

Overall, Potti discussed the strategy of incorporating AI and expertise to enhance security across different aspects of Google Cloud. The presentation aimed to provide a structured approach for securing and leveraging AI in the security domain.

Bold & responsible – from Mountain View to Bangalore

Google has been carrying around the ‘bold and responsible’ label since its executives have not shut up about generative AI since 2023 began. The new mantra has been repeated over and over in all the conferences held from Mountain View to Bangalore.

In fact, at the I/O, a drinking game emerged — take a sip every time the speakers utter the word “responsible AI”. And this did not stop at California, the first-ever I/O Connect event at Bangalore was a carbon copy. As a responsible parent in the AI world, Google made sure every announcement was spiked with a hint of the responsible approach. Every speaker, from the CTO of Google Cloud to the VPs of Google Pay and Android, made sure to emphasise the ethical use of AI.

While the company has been portraying itself in a ‘don’t be evil’ light, its researchers have raised several red flags in the recent past over the internal shenanigans at the search giant led by Sundar Pichai. James Manyika, the company’s head of tech and society recently spoke to The Washington Post about the downsides of AI. 

Before addressing a packed arena, he discussed the scourge of misinformation and how AI has become an echo chamber reflecting society’s misdemeanour. Manyika warned about the emergence of new problems as the technology improves. As he stepped on stage, the words ‘bold and responsible’ ironically flashed on the audiences’ screens.

In an attempt to regain its pole position on the AI-first podium, the Google Search creator has been trying to ship products without much oversight. Even though the company believes that ethics cannot be an afterthought, its actions have spoken differently for a while. As technology progresses so does the risk of misusing it. Looking at Google’s history of antitrust cases and data theft scandals, it looks happy carrying around the ‘bold and responsible’ placard for now.