It didn't even need to be THIS shady, but they would have felt uncomfortable otherwise...
Honestly: if they put out a passing announcement, probably, nobody would have given half a hedgehog's ass about it. Or, if they wanted to give themselves an even passing appearance of transparency, they could have informed the patient that their data were used to train whatever the frick they are training with them and then lying about the data being rendered somewhat anonymous.
But no: they had to keep it quiet and deliberately make it feel as shady as it really is: data harvesting without consent for monetisation that does _not_ benefit in any way, shape or form those to whom the data "belong" --those who generate them.
I'm starting to believe that even the slightest whiff of moral integrity or honesty is enough to give Google's (and Facebook's, since they are up to the same stuff, guaranteed, they just haven't been caught yet) management a stroke.
If they continue this way, they'll make oil and tobacco companies like cute little fluffy bunnies... Time to rid the world of (all of) these companies, really.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
