Guarding Your Trade Secrets: Privacy in the Era of Generative AI
Generative AI tools are designed to learn from the data they process. This means that any information you input—whether it's through prompts or in the form of AI-generated responses—could be used by companies to train their models further.
Understanding the Risks:
As generative AI (GenAI) tools become increasingly integrated into our workflows, it's crucial to understand their implications for privacy, security, and confidentiality. These tools are powerful, but with great power comes great responsibility. In this blog, we'll explore how to use GenAI tools responsibly, emphasizing the importance of protecting sensitive information.
Generative AI tools are designed to learn from the data they process. This means that any information you input—whether it's through prompts or in the form of AI-generated responses—could be used by companies to further train their models. This is particularly concerning when it comes to sensitive data, such as personal details of employees and/or clients as well proprietary or confidential company information like trade secrets. Once this data is shared, it may no longer be private and could potentially become accessible in the public domain.
Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Principles to Follow:
1. Privacy:
Always assume that any information shared with a GenAI application will be used to train the model. This means it could potentially become part of the public domain or accessible to others.
Be cautious and thoughtful about the type of information you input into these tools.
2. Security:
Never input personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) into GenAI tools. This includes details such as names, addresses, social security numbers, and medical records.
Ensure that all data shared with GenAI tools is non-sensitive and cannot be traced back to individuals.
3. Confidentiality:
Avoid inputting confidential, sensitive, or legally protected information into GenAI tools. This includes but is not limited to information contained in student or employee records, proprietary information, and any other data that is legally protected.
Protect copyrighted material and proprietary intellectual property by keeping it out of GenAI tools.
Things to Never Do:
Never input personal information: This includes any information identifying an individual, such as names, addresses, phone numbers, or social security numbers.
Never share protected health information (PHI): Medical records, health data, and any information protected under HIPAA should never be entered into GenAI tools.
Never disclose confidential or legally protected information: To maintain confidentiality and comply with legal standards, keep employee data, client information, and other proprietary information out of these tools.
Never upload copyrighted material or intellectual property: Protect your organization's intellectual property by avoiding the input of any proprietary content into GenAI tools.
Never assume that data input into GenAI tools is private: Treat all data as if it could be made public or used by others to improve AI models.
Conclusion:
The power of GenAI tools is undeniable, but with this power comes the responsibility to protect the privacy, security, and confidentiality of the data we handle. By following the guidelines outlined above and understanding the risks, we can leverage these tools effectively while safeguarding the sensitive information entrusted with.
Resources from AIGG on your AI Journey
Do you need training or specific support in building AI Literacy or protecting privacy for your business? We’re a little different. Though we have techies on staff, we don’t approach AI from a tech perspective. We approach it from a safe, ethical, and responsible use perspective because we’ve been through technology and business transformations before.
Whether you’re a business, nonprofit, school district, or government agency looking to add AI to your tech toolkit, we can guide the way in a responsible manner. AiGg is here to support you in navigating ethics, governance, and strategy.
We have attorneys, anthropologists, data scientists, and business leaders to support you as you develop your Strategic AI Use Statements, which can guide your organization’s use of the tools available to you. We also offer bespoke educational workshops to help you explore and build your playbooks, guidelines, and guardrails as your adoption (and potential risk management) options grow.
Connect with us for more information, to get your free AI Tools Adoption Checklist, Legal and Operational Issues List, HR Handbook policy, or to schedule a workshop to learn more about how to make AI work safely for you. We are here for you.
Reach out for more information and to begin the journey towards making AI work safely and advantageously for your organization.
