8 ms·

Still not available in Canada...

by CraftThatBlock 3y ago

drcongo 3y ago
"globally"
- eviks 3y ago
  Bard agrees with you on this one
llm_nerd 3y ago
People hypothesized that this was due to the whole bill C-18 news thing[1], but since Google has capitulated and paid off the media, so that doesn't seem to be the reason, outside of maybe licking-wounds spite. Canada has no unique privacy or other laws that apply to AI. If anything our protections are rather underwhelming compared to most peer countries -- we basically just echo whatever the US does -- so that certainly doesn't seem to be it. Such a weird, unexplained situation. At this point I just have to assume Pichai has some grievance with Canada or something. Thankfully Google is a serious laggard in this realm. We have full access to OpenAI products, including through Microsoft properties, Perplexity, and various others. So, eh. [1] - Like, literally, every Google employee/apologist in here claimed it was C-18. C-18 is basically settled for Google, so now it's...checks notes...that some government talking head once said they need to think about regulating AI, just like every single country and jurisdiction on the planet. Add the tried and true "Canada's just too small a market" bit that somehow is used when Google is busy pandering to markets a small fraction of the size.
- notatoad 3y ago
  > Canada has no unique privacy or other laws that apply to AI Canada has plenty of unique laws, whether or not they apply to ai is a question yet to be answered. It seems pretty reasonable to me for google to take a cautious approach to our unique legal landscape
  - llm_nerd 3y ago
    >whether or not they apply to ai is a question yet to be answered Yet Google has never said a peep on this. Can you name one such "unique law" that would prohibit Google but somehow is no issue for other vendors? >It seems pretty reasonable to me for google to take a cautious approach Bard is available in over a hundred countries, all with "unique" laws. Bard is available across the EU which has dramatically more comprehensive personal privacy and rights laws.
- Tyr42 3y ago
  I thought it was Quebec and the English and not French issue.
  - mardifoufs 3y ago
    Wouldn't apply to online services. At least, I don't think it would since it never stopped anyone else from providing English only websites or online services. The 101 law applies more to physical storefronts, employers, etc.
- AlanYx 3y ago
  The problem in Canada is layers of legal uncertainty. Quebec recently passed Bill 64, which purports to regulate applications of AI. The Federal government is in second reading of bill C-27, which will impose an onerous regulatory regime on AI. (It is unclear if forthcoming amendments will prohibit open source AI tools entirely.) On top of that, the Federal privacy commissioner and five provincial privacy commissioners are currently investigating whether to sanction OpenAI under PIPEDA and various provincial privacy laws. It's too small of a market for the level of legal risk, unless the upside is huge, which it isn't for at least the public-facing version of Bard. Anthropic's Claude also isn't available in Canada, likely for similar reasons.
  - llm_nerd 3y ago
    >The problem in Canada is layers of legal uncertainty. Every government on the planet has laws which "might" apply to AI, for which one could claim "uncertainty". The EU's privacy protections make Quebec's bill 64 look positively pedestrian. Pointing to various government agencies making noise about something is just a meaningless distraction. Again, literally every government on the planet has someone who says maybe they should think about maybe considering. Canada walks in lockstep with the US on virtually all matters. As a US company, Google even has special protections in Canada under NAFTAv2 that they have nowhere else on the planet. And again, this all seemingly is zero concern for Microsoft or OpenAI, among many others. I guess those scary Quebec laws (that don't even apply) aren't as formidable as held. "Anthropic's Claude also isn't available in Canada, likely for similar reasons." Claude is unavailable on most of the planet, and seems to be a capacity issue more than anything else. Bard is available pretty much everywhere on the planet but Canada. Like at this point it is very obvious that it's "personal". As to the too small of a market claims, this is always such a weird one. Bard operates in much, much smaller markets. All of which have onerous regulations and are having the rumblings of scary new restrictions on AI.
    - AlanYx 3y ago
      >Canada walks in lockstep with the US on virtually all matters. On the topic of AI regulation, if you look at Bill C-27 and Canada's involvement in the ongoing Council of Europe negotiations towards a treaty on AI, Canada is currently aligned much more closely to the EU's AI Act. The same goes for privacy law; PIPEDA is closer in spirit to the GDPR but even more ambiguous and in some need of modernization. And as we've seen with today's announcement, which also excludes the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, and the UK, Google's approach to regulatory risks associated with AI appears to be a cautious one. >And again, this all has seemingly is zero concern for Microsoft or OpenAI... Microsoft is willing to shoulder the legal risks because they have a solid revenue stream through Azure OpenAI services. OpenAI itself will just block Canada if the regulatory authorities get too aggressive, like they did temporarily in Italy until a deal was reached.
fudged71 3y ago
This is pretty insane. 230+ countries but not Canada. Too bad none of their talent comes from here /s
emayljames 3y ago
Or for me in the UK with UK IP, UK account, UK language settings. Seemingly globally means the USA to google
- esafak 3y ago
  We're home of the World Series!

Still not available in Canada...

drcongo 3y ago

"globally"

eviks 3y ago
Bard agrees with you on this one

llm_nerd 3y ago

People hypothesized that this was due to the whole bill C-18 news thing[1], but since Google has capitulated and paid off the media, so that doesn't seem to be the reason, outside of maybe licking-wounds spite. Canada has no unique privacy or other laws that apply to AI. If anything our protections are rather underwhelming compared to most peer countries -- we basically just echo whatever the US does -- so that certainly doesn't seem to be it. Such a weird, unexplained situation. At this point I just have to assume Pichai has some grievance with Canada or something. Thankfully Google is a serious laggard in this realm. We have full access to OpenAI products, including through Microsoft properties, Perplexity, and various others. So, eh. [1] - Like, literally, every Google employee/apologist in here claimed it was C-18. C-18 is basically settled for Google, so now it's...checks notes...that some government talking head once said they need to think about regulating AI, just like every single country and jurisdiction on the planet. Add the tried and true "Canada's just too small a market" bit that somehow is used when Google is busy pandering to markets a small fraction of the size.

notatoad 3y ago
> Canada has no unique privacy or other laws that apply to AI Canada has plenty of unique laws, whether or not they apply to ai is a question yet to be answered. It seems pretty reasonable to me for google to take a cautious approach to our unique legal landscape
- llm_nerd 3y ago
  >whether or not they apply to ai is a question yet to be answered Yet Google has never said a peep on this. Can you name one such "unique law" that would prohibit Google but somehow is no issue for other vendors? >It seems pretty reasonable to me for google to take a cautious approach Bard is available in over a hundred countries, all with "unique" laws. Bard is available across the EU which has dramatically more comprehensive personal privacy and rights laws.
Tyr42 3y ago
I thought it was Quebec and the English and not French issue.
- mardifoufs 3y ago
  Wouldn't apply to online services. At least, I don't think it would since it never stopped anyone else from providing English only websites or online services. The 101 law applies more to physical storefronts, employers, etc.
AlanYx 3y ago
The problem in Canada is layers of legal uncertainty. Quebec recently passed Bill 64, which purports to regulate applications of AI. The Federal government is in second reading of bill C-27, which will impose an onerous regulatory regime on AI. (It is unclear if forthcoming amendments will prohibit open source AI tools entirely.) On top of that, the Federal privacy commissioner and five provincial privacy commissioners are currently investigating whether to sanction OpenAI under PIPEDA and various provincial privacy laws. It's too small of a market for the level of legal risk, unless the upside is huge, which it isn't for at least the public-facing version of Bard. Anthropic's Claude also isn't available in Canada, likely for similar reasons.
- llm_nerd 3y ago
  >The problem in Canada is layers of legal uncertainty. Every government on the planet has laws which "might" apply to AI, for which one could claim "uncertainty". The EU's privacy protections make Quebec's bill 64 look positively pedestrian. Pointing to various government agencies making noise about something is just a meaningless distraction. Again, literally every government on the planet has someone who says maybe they should think about maybe considering. Canada walks in lockstep with the US on virtually all matters. As a US company, Google even has special protections in Canada under NAFTAv2 that they have nowhere else on the planet. And again, this all seemingly is zero concern for Microsoft or OpenAI, among many others. I guess those scary Quebec laws (that don't even apply) aren't as formidable as held. "Anthropic's Claude also isn't available in Canada, likely for similar reasons." Claude is unavailable on most of the planet, and seems to be a capacity issue more than anything else. Bard is available pretty much everywhere on the planet but Canada. Like at this point it is very obvious that it's "personal". As to the too small of a market claims, this is always such a weird one. Bard operates in much, much smaller markets. All of which have onerous regulations and are having the rumblings of scary new restrictions on AI.
  - AlanYx 3y ago
    >Canada walks in lockstep with the US on virtually all matters. On the topic of AI regulation, if you look at Bill C-27 and Canada's involvement in the ongoing Council of Europe negotiations towards a treaty on AI, Canada is currently aligned much more closely to the EU's AI Act. The same goes for privacy law; PIPEDA is closer in spirit to the GDPR but even more ambiguous and in some need of modernization. And as we've seen with today's announcement, which also excludes the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, and the UK, Google's approach to regulatory risks associated with AI appears to be a cautious one. >And again, this all has seemingly is zero concern for Microsoft or OpenAI... Microsoft is willing to shoulder the legal risks because they have a solid revenue stream through Azure OpenAI services. OpenAI itself will just block Canada if the regulatory authorities get too aggressive, like they did temporarily in Italy until a deal was reached.

fudged71 3y ago

This is pretty insane. 230+ countries but not Canada. Too bad none of their talent comes from here /s

emayljames 3y ago

Or for me in the UK with UK IP, UK account, UK language settings. Seemingly globally means the USA to google

esafak 3y ago
We're home of the World Series!