Google on Thursday shared updates on its multi-pronged approach to using AI to protect vulnerable users from online harm, strengthen privacy and cybersecurity tools for businesses, and create AI models that are fair, inclusive, and representative.
In a press note, the company said safety is the infrastructure for transformational AI. In India, where the digital economy is growing fast, it is building AI systems that are designed to keep user trust intact as India transitions to AI.
“When AI-powered defenses run on the device, it gives us an unprecedented advantage over bad actors seeking to target individuals or critical public infrastructure. India’s scale and multiplicity make it the world’s proving ground for reliable AI safety. The path to equitable AI for the entire Global South will be led from India, and we are committed to supporting that journey,” said Evan Kotsovinos, vice-president, privacy, safety and security, Google.
Preeti Lobana, country manager, Google India, said that Google is taking a 360-degree approach to safety -- combining on-product and on-cloud protections, digital literacy to empower users with knowledge and awareness, and investing in continuous safety research so as to keep updating defences to keep up with the emerging threats.
Real-time scam detection on phone calls
The technology giant announced Scam Detection, powered by Gemini Nano and rolling out on Pixel phones. It checks calls in real-time and flags potential scams entirely on-device, without recording audio or transcripts or sending data to Google. The feature is ‘off’ by default and users will have to turn it on to activate. It works only for calls from unknown numbers, not saved contacts, and plays a ‘beep’ to notify participants. It can be turned off by the user at any time.
Protection for financial apps
Google is also testing a new feature in India in collaboration with financial apps such as Google Pay, Navi, and PayTM to stop screen-sharing scams. Devices running Android 11+ now show a clear alert if a user opens one of these apps while screen sharing on a call with an unknown contact. This feature gives a one-tap option to end the call and stop screen sharing, protecting users from potential fraud.
Google Play Protect has successfully blocked over 115 million attempts to install side-loaded apps that use sensitive permissions often abused for financial fraud in India. This is supported by Google Pay’s system, which shows over 1 million warnings weekly for fraudulent transactions, actively protecting the backbone of the country’s digital economy.
Systemic protection
Google is also introducing Enhanced Phone Number Verification (ePNV), a new Android-based security system that replaces SMS OTP flows with a secure, consented, SIM-based check to raise the standard for sign-in security.
SynthID partnerships
The company is also giving early access to SynthID Detector and API, Google’s watermarking technology to identify synthetically generated content, to strategic partners including academia, researchers, and publishers such as Jagran, PTI, and India Today among others.