Is Google Gemini trained on Google docs? One indie developer thinks so, after it told players about his unreleased game plans

A game developer claims that the AI, Google Gemini, was able to access and reveal unreleased information about his game from his private Google Docs. Screenshots shared online suggest that Gemini provided specifics about a character named 'Vantage Tripod', which the developer had not yet publicly announced. The developer also noticed Gemini recalling accurate details about unreleased game mechanics that were only documented in Google Docs the previous day.

Despite Google stating that Gemini only accesses Google Docs when explicitly given permission, the developer is convinced that the AI has somehow scraped his private documents. This has raised concerns about Google's data privacy policies, as there are exceptions where Google Docs can be accessed for training purposes, such as when the link is publicly shared or if third-party extensions scrape the documents.

While Google assures that Gemini discards the data it collects transiently, many remain skeptical, with some even suspecting that the developer or others may have unintentionally provided the AI with access to sensitive information. The situation remains largely unexplained, and Google has yet to provide a response to the developer's request for clarification.