AI’s Unchecked Ascent: How Big Tech is outpacing the regulatory rulebook Premium

OpenAI, Meta, Google, Anthropic and Microsoft unveil deeper integrations of their AI models, each flaunting ever more advanced capabilities. 

Artificial intelligence is experiencing a period of meteoric acceleration. Scarcely a week passes without fresh demonstrations of its expanding capabilities, as giants like OpenAI, Meta, Google, Anthropic and Microsoft unveil deeper integrations of their AI models, each flaunting ever more advanced capabilities. 

These firms’ fortunes were built on data, both scraped from the internet and personal user details. This digital information now serves as the lifeblood for all the AI tools they deploy to the general public as tiered products.

Some of these tech titans have faced scrutiny over their data practices, resulting in fines in certain instances and changes in their behavior in others. They have been questioned by regulators, courts, and the general public in several major economies. 

To understand the kind of data these firms collect and the methods they use, consider a 2020 class action lawsuit brought against Google. In Brown et al vs Google LLC, users alleged that the tech giant was tracking them even when they were browsing privately, using Google’s “incognito” mode. The users alleged that the tech giant was tracking their data, including shopping habits and other online hunts, despite them choosing to browse privately.

The search giant reached a settlement in April, and lawyers of the plaintiffs valued the accord as high as $7.8 billion. While users will have to individually file for damages, the company agreed to delete troves of data from their records following the settlement. 

In another case, Google agreed to settle a case brought against it by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over deceptive location tracking. The Silicon Valley company agreed to pay $1.4 billion for illegally tracking location and biometric details of users without consent. 

Google is not alone. Llama AI owner Meta is another data guzzler. The social media giant was accused of using biometric data of users illegally. The company agreed to pay $1.4 billion and sought to deepen its business in the state of Texas.