Does AI Steal My Personal Data?
Welcome to our little corner of the internet! Today we’ll be looking at a more ethical question: does AI steal personal data, and is it moral for it to do so if it does? Let’s become data detectives and look behind the scenes..
In today’s ever-growing digitally connected world, the buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI) often stirs up concerns about personal data privacy. For example, news of a cyberattack powered by AI being able to listen to your keystrokes and find out your passwords from them has spread around quickly. In the midst of all of the hustle, however, one question remains: does AI have its virtual fingertips in our personal data? Let’s look into it.
Personal Data: Defined
Before we delve into the AI aspect, let’s clarify what we mean by personal data. It’s the digital trail of footprints you leave as you browse the web, use apps, and interact online. This data can include your name, email, location, shopping preferences, and more. It may be stored in cookies online (if you are interested in learning about what those are, check this out).
Analysing Data
AI’s superpower lies in “crunching” massive amounts of data to uncover patterns and insights that humans might miss. Imagine you’re at a library with millions of books, and you want to find one (or maybe an entire list of them!) tailored to your tastes. Where humans would take an inevitably long time to do this, AI could help you find the right book(s) by quickly scanning titles and summaries. This is because AI can process vast amounts of data much faster than a human can.
Stealing Or Helping?
Now, let’s address the big question: Does AI steal your personal data? The short answer is no — AI itself doesn’t steal data. However, AI systems rely on data to learn and make predictions. This is where things get interesting. When AI analyzes data, it needs a lot of it to be effective. Sometimes, this data includes personal information.
However, OpenAI (the owner of mass applications like ChatGPT and DALL•E) claims that they do not share your personal “content” for advertising or marketing reasons. Whilst most AI companies claim to not use your data directly for marketing reasons, if a data breach occured all data could easily be leaked.
Note: It’s still important not to put any sensitive information into applications like those listed (Bard, ChatGPT…etc) because creators of those applications are generally considered to be able to view all input.
Quite The Balancing Act!
AI walks a tightrope between providing personalized experiences and respecting privacy. For example, a helpful AI assistant that remembers your appointments or suggests routes to avoid traffic would need access to your calendar or location, which involves sharing personal data. But the public goal isn’t to hoard that data — it’s to make your life smoother — right?
Transparency and Control
Modern AI-driven services often give you more control over your data. You can adjust privacy settings, delete data, or even opt out of certain data collection practices. Tech companies are increasingly transparent about how they use your data and offer tools to manage it.
Remember, AI is a creation of humans. It’s designed, programmed, and guided by us. While AI can process data, it doesn’t have personal motivations or intentions. It doesn’t “want” your data; it usually just processes it to offer better services.
In the grand tapestry of AI and personal data, the focus should be on responsible data handling. AI itself doesn’t steal your data; it’s a tool designed to enhance your online experiences. The responsibility lies with the companies using AI to handle your data ethically, securely, and transparently. This is a common factor of trust we put into most companies nowadays (bank services, social media and more).
I hope you found this useful in some way! If you did, leave a few claps, a comment and a follow behind! Thank you for reading this article, see you in the next one!
