Google's Gemini AI Summarizes Private Tax Return Without Permission, Raising Privacy Concerns

Google's Gemini AI Summarizes Private Tax Return Without Permission, Raising Privacy Concerns

Last week, Kevin Bankston, Senior Advisor on AI Governance at the Center for Democracy & Technology, reported on X that Google's Gemini AI had summarized his private tax return stored on Google Drive without his consent. Despite his efforts to disable the feature, Gemini continued to function within Google Drive, prompting questions about Google's data handling and privacy settings, according to Craig Hale of TechRadar.

Bankston's attempts to locate the appropriate controls to disable Gemini's integration were unsuccessful. He asked Google's AI chatbot, which rivals ChatGPT, for assistance on two occasions, but the guidance provided did not resolve the issue. He noted that Gemini was not listed in "Apps and services" on his dashboard, nor did he see a profile picture on the Gemini page as suggested.

With help from another X user, Bankston eventually found the control, which was already disabled, indicating either a malfunctioning setting or additional hidden controls. Despite this, Google's documentation asserts that Google Workspace data is not used to train or enhance its generative AI services or for targeted advertising. Bankston speculated that his involvement in Google Workspace Labs might have influenced Gemini's behavior. The Gemini side panel in Google Drive for PDFs can be closed if users no longer wish to access AI-generated summaries.