The power of AI is worthless without data privacy

HANGZHOU, China — The transformative power of artificial intelligence is of no value unless user data is protected, Chinese smartphone company Honor CEO George Zhao told CNBC in an exclusive interview Thursday.

His comments come as Apple announced this month that it will begin rolling out personalized AI tools to select devices in the US this fall.

Honor is already integrating a number of AI features, such as allowing users to open text messages and other notifications just by looking at them, or eliminating copy and paste steps by linking Yelp-like apps directly to navigation – or ride apps.

This week at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, Honor unveiled new AI tools for detecting the use of deepfakes in videosand for simulating lenses that can reduce myopia during hours of screen use.

Zhao emphasized that Honor’s approach is to keep AI operations involving personal data limited to the smartphone. It is also known as on-device AI and contrasts with AI tools that use cloud computing to work.

“Without data security and protection of users’ privacy, AI will become worthless,” Zhao said in Mandarin, as translated by CNBC. “This has always been one of our value propositions.”

“We say user data doesn’t go away [the device]Zhao said. “This is a principle we adhere to.”

Apple Intelligence, the iPhone company’s AI product, claims it uses on-device processing and uses “server-based models” for more complex requests. Apple said its new “Private Cloud Compute” never stores user data.

Honor says the AI ​​was developed on the device itself and the company is working with it Baidu And Googling Cloud for some other AI features.

“In general, I believe that the development of AI so far has two directions,” Zhao said. “Network [cloud] AI has become increasingly powerful. But I believe that AI on devices, in terms of capabilities and consumer empowerment, will become increasingly intimate and increasingly understanding.”

“It will give consumers more support and help them interact with the future AI world,” he added.

Zhao pointed out that many generative AI applications, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, require large amounts of computing power far beyond the battery capacity of a single smartphone.

That means they have to use the cloud raises questions about the security of data transmission.

Balancing AI capabilities with energy consumption and data privacy is a “huge challenge” for manufacturers, Zhao said.

He said a system that collects a lot of user data to deliver more personalized features becomes a “stronger” object compared to the individual using the system.

“In the future development of smartphones, our goal is for the individual to become stronger,” Zhao said.

“When an object becomes stronger, it will reveal the smallness of the individual in its presence. I believe that mobile devices should empower and facilitate individuals.”

Honor’s Magic V2 folding phone, which was launched in China last summer and in Europe earlier this year, won the “Best Smartphone in Asia Award” at the Shanghai MWC this week.

The Magic V2 folds almost as thin as an iPhone.

Honor will release the Magic V3 in July with the company’s latest AI features.

When asked if the new foldable model would be even thinner, Zhao simply said: “Of course we have to challenge ourselves, right?”