In the recent developments, AI has moved from pure logic to having capabilities like intuition, imagining, potential to reshape business operations, and leveraging personal data to design something suitable for everyone. For example; ChatGPT uses deep learning (a subset of machine learning) to produce humanlike text through transformer neural networks. The transformer predicts text, including the next word, sentence or paragraph, based on its training data’s typical sequence. This training begins with generic data, then moves to more tailored data for a specific task. With AI, we are humans are creating a non-human intelligence that is completely unpredictable.
At the eye of this storm lies the rapid evolution of AI’s capabilities, marking the advent of what we refer to as the “Age of AI” or the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” that everyone is talking about…..
“If we don’t make good use of AI, we’re missing a huge opportunity to leverage it and that alone will subject us to staying in the digital nursery“
Using AI is a double-aged sword i.e. one side gleams with the promise of revolutionary innovations, enhancing our capabilities in numerous ways. However, the flip side reveals potential pitfalls, especially concerning privacy
Its evident that we live in the AI era, personal data has become an incredibly valuable commodity. The vast amounts of data generated and shared online daily have enabled businesses, governments, agencies, tech giants, and organizations to make informed decisions. However, this practice at the expense of analyzing personal data that individuals may not have consciously shared without their consent. That is where my question stands. “Everyone is talking about AI, everyone is embracing using AI, but are we privacy-aware?”
Privacy is the right to keep personal information confidential and free from unauthorized access. It is an essential human right that ensures individuals have control over their personal data and how it is used. Today, privacy is more important than ever as the amount of personal data collected and analyzed continues to grow.
Privacy is crucial for a variety of reasons:
- It protects individuals from harm, such as identity theft or fraud.
- It also helps to maintain individual autonomy and control over personal information, which is essential for personal dignity and respect. Furthermore, privacy allows individuals to maintain their personal and professional relationships without fear of surveillance or interference.
- Last but not least, it protects our free will; if all our data is publicly available, toxic recommendation engines will be able to analyze our data and use it to manipulate individuals into making certain (buying) decisions.
In the context of AI, privacy is essential to ensure that AI systems are not used to manipulate individuals or discriminate against them based on their personal data.
AI tools/systems that rely on personal data to make decisions must be transparent and accountable to ensure that they are not making unfair or biased decisions.
Artificial intelligence tools have plenty of hype, but little practical instruction. Therefore, as we design AI tools, its important to embed privacy by design principles in all aspects of system development, integrate privacy enabled tools with already existing AI tools. AI should be our tool, not our master.
The importance of privacy in the digital era cannot be overstated. It is a fundamental human right that is necessary for personal autonomy, protection, and fairness.
As AI continues to become more prevalent in our lives, we should remain vigilant in protecting our privacy to ensure that technology is used ethically and responsibly because accompanying this AI storm is a limited understanding of associated privacy risks, further compounded by varying levels of organizational preparedness for an AI-driven future.
“By far, the greatest danger of artificial intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it”. ~ Eliezer Yudkowsky, Artificial Intelligence Theorist.
Since humans are the red-line in the AI-driven future, we need a holistic approach to AI privacy implications and in this regard, I have a few questions here below, let me hear your thoughts in the comment section……
- How do we ensure AI observes human dignity and rights?
- How do we embed fairness and prevent discrimination in AI systems?
- How do we assign responsibility and accountability when things go wrong?
#beprivacyaware
