With artificial intelligence (AI) at its core, Google has announced major updates to existing products and new products for users in India. These were announced at the company’s annual Google for India keynote, now in its 10th year. Updates that appear to be far-reaching advances include Gemini Live AI assistant that can now understand and speak nine Indian languages, consumer lending and credit initiatives with digital payments platform Google Pay, and enhanced fraud protection. This includes tests such as Leverage protection mechanisms within Android’s Play Protect architecture to combat fraud via phone calls and messages.
Android: Demographics and threats
Google recognizes the important role that firewalls play in protecting smartphone users without alarm. According to the latest figures from research firm Statista, Android has a 71.65% market share worldwide. In India, the share is even higher, with StatCounter Global estimating this share to be 95.73% of the total smartphone OS skew in India.
The attempt is to strengthen the layering of the Android operating system to thwart fraudulent techniques such as using screen sharing to verify OTPs, passwords, and SMS. New and improved fraud protection as part of the Google Play Protect Suite allows Android smartphones to block the installation of unverifiable apps that may contain malware.
“Google Play Protect has always done some kind of evaluation on the device. Currently, if a new app is downloaded that we don’t know about, the installation will be paused and the user will be prompted to allow the scan. ,” said Eugene Leiderman, director of mobile security strategy at Google. , in a conversation with H.T.
These measures are based on Google Play Protect real-time scanning of apps already installed on Android smartphones, which was announced by Google for India last year. From now on, all app permissions will be proactively scanned and blocked, especially those that request viewing access to incoming message notifications or the ability to read messages. Android reads these as “RECEIVE_SMS, READ_SMS, BIND_Notifications, Accessibility”.
“If a user in India attempts to install an application from an Internet sideloading source and one of these four permissions is declared, Play Protect provides instructions to the user and automatically blocks the installation,” Google says. is admitted.
Sideloading refers to sources other than the Google Play Store, Samsung’s Galaxy Store, and Xiaomi’s GetApps Store. Particularly dangerous are .apk files (Android app installation files) shared via WhatsApp, Messages, and file manager apps. “Our research shows that fraudsters exploit open web links to distribute malicious apps and harm customers in a variety of ways. Google Enhanced Fraud Prevention The pilot will be an important toolkit to fill a critical gap in protecting customers from financial crime,” said Sugandh Saxena, CEO of the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment.
Android’s anti-fraud protection works in conjunction with Truecaller, a popular centralized app that displays live caller ID, and Airtel’s recently announced network-level labeling of “suspected fraud” calls and messages.
Reliance on AI across products
Google’s approach with updates to Gemini, Search, and Maps seeks to encourage more users to access AI. Gemini Assistant, which replaces Google Assistant on Android, will support nine Indian languages. Support for Hindi will begin immediately, with Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Urdu also expected to be supported “in the coming weeks.”
Previously available for English and Hindi search results, Search AI Overview introduces the Gemini model to overlay generated AI results for searches in Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, and Tamil. Google Lens will also use Gemini to provide an AI overview of what your phone’s camera is pointing at.
Google has announced that it has reworked its place overview and Google Maps now summarizes user reviews. “This feature will begin rolling out in India later this month,” the company confirmed. “Maps now uses AI-powered image recognition to help users not only search for locations, but also facilitate specific exploration through Maps for a visual experience. ” they added.
Expansion into consumer finance
Google Pay is focused on credit and lending in India, partnering with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) Aditya Birla Finance Limited and Muthoot Finance, with the latter also introducing gold-backed loans.
This builds on the business loan product rolled out at Pay last year. “The convenience of gold-backed loans on Google Pay opens up valuable credit options for millions of people, especially in rural India,” Google acknowledged. The company says that AI provides clarity on repayment cycles, eligibility criteria and EMIs. These financial products will be available on Google Pay in the coming weeks.
Initiatives for India that go beyond products
Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, announced an initiative to raise education and AI awareness in the country. A $4 million grant has been awarded to the nonprofit Central Square Foundation to promote AI literacy across India. This will provide a post in AI Samarth, the foundation’s AI literacy program that aims to bring AI awareness to 500,000 students, educators and parents in the country.
Google.org is also working with another nonprofit, Rocket Learning, to build an AI-powered personalized coaching application for early childhood development for ages 3 to 6. . The AI solution, called Saheli, will be supported by the organization’s fellowship program following a $1.5 million grant in 2023.
Google has confirmed plans to launch a new Google Safety Engineering Center (GSEC) in India next year that will focus on developing security and online safety products for Indian users.
“This center brings together best-in-class safety engineers, regional policy experts, government partners, and academia to protect users from threats such as scams and scams, strengthen enterprise and government security, and improve India’s online safety.” “We are focused on addressing gender challenges. We conduct cutting-edge research and development,” a Google spokesperson said.
