One signal

Google DeepMind and Singapore’s GovTech are building an on-device fraud detector using Gemma, fine-tuned on local scam tactics. The stated aim is to spot threats in real time without sending personal data away from the device.

That could make fraud warnings more private while tailoring detection to scams in Singapore. Google DeepMind says more than half of reported crimes there involve sophisticated social engineering. The project is still being built, so the useful question is how it performs outside the announcement. On-device detection sounds promising; the scammer, regrettably, is not waiting for the launch notes.

Discuss: Would you trust an on-device scam detector more than one that checks activity in the cloud, even if the cloud version could use more data to spot threats?

Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.