Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting more sophisticated day by day. And as it does, our personal information becomes more vulnerable, too. This is because so many businesses and organizations use AI to analyze vast amounts of data, which makes it difficult to predict when and how your information can end up in their datasets.
If you aren't comfortable with AI handling or learning from your personal information (sometimes even personal conversations), this puts you in a difficult position. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to maintain control over how much of your data AI can access and process.
How to Protect Your Privacy in an AI-Driven World
While it may be difficult to completely ensure that your personal information isn't included in AI datasets, there are still plenty of things you can do to limit and maintain control over it. A lot of these things boil down to basic digital hygiene and data privacy best practices.
So, here are the five strategies that are the most essential to protecting your data from AI:
1. Be Mindful of Your Digital Footprint
One of the most effective things you can do to reduce the privacy risks associated with AI is just to think twice before you share anything online. It's safe to assume that in most cases, anything you share can and likely will travel beyond the entity you originally shared it with—including to companies that may feed it to AI.
That being said, it's nearly impossible to use anything connected to the internet without sharing something. But before you do, simply ask yourself: "Is it necessary to share this information?"
Sharing your location data with a delivery service like Amazon makes sense, for example, but there's no functional need to share it with most social media platforms. Unfortunately, you usually share more information than is strictly necessary by default. The only way to combat this—as tedious as it may be—is by taking the time to explore privacy settings whenever they're available to limit access to your personal information as much as the settings allow.
2. Limit Your Data Broker Exposure
Many people aren't aware that there are companies called data brokers that make it their entire business to collect and sell their personal information to third parties—many of which use AI algorithms. They can share sensitive details like your income, health conditions, and even online behaviors.
But you can prevent data brokers from collecting and passing your information along. In most cases, you have the right to request that data brokers remove and stop selling your personal information. All you have to do is submit an opt-out request. Even if you don't live in an area protected by data privacy laws, it's still worth sending these requests because they receive too many to filter out those that they aren't obligated by law to honor and just comply with all requests.
There are two types of data brokers you'll want to look for: public-facing data brokers, called people search sites, and private data brokers that sell datasets to businesses and organizations. If you enter your name, address, phone number, or email in any search engine, you'll be able to find most of the people search sites that have your data. When it comes to private data brokers, though, you'll have to do a bit more research to see which ones are active in your area and send them removal requests blindly, assuming they likely have your personal information.
You can also find free resources online that provide a list of the biggest people search sites and private data brokers, along with site-specific opt-out guides to help you get started.
3. Tighten Your Online Security
As we mentioned, good digital hygiene is important. If you have any security vulnerabilities, bad actors can get their hands on your personal information and use it against you in numerous ways (scams, identity theft, and selling it on to the highest bidder). If this happens, you'll have even bigger problems than AI-related privacy concerns, but obviously, that doesn't make it any less important.
Here are some preventative measures you can take:
- Use encrypted messaging and email applications to prevent interception by third parties. Messaging apps like Signal and email providers like Proton offer end-to-end encryption and prioritize privacy.
- Invest in a VPN and strong antivirus to keep all of your online activity encrypted and private and protect your devices from malware.
- Use strong, unique passwords for all your online accounts. 61% of data breaches involve stolen credentials. So avoid passwords that are easy to guess (ike birthdays or pet names), never reuse passwords across multiple accounts, and consider using a password manager to generate and store complex passwords securely.
- Use ad-blocking and pop-up blocking software to prevent dangerous pop-up ads and keep companies from tracking your online behavior.
- Be cautious with smart devices. AI-powered devices like smart speakers and IoT appliances can collect a ton of personal data without you even noticing. They can also be hacked and used to spy. Be mindful of what you say and do around these devices, and adjust their privacy settings to limit data collection.
4. Support Privacy-Focused Businesses
Not all businesses were created equal. Some companies are notorious for collecting tons of data—functioning almost like data brokers. Others prioritize user privacy. We already mentioned some messaging and email apps like Signal and Proton Mail. And there are many more.
Google collects a ton of data, for example. Instead, you can opt for using a less popular but privacy-focused search engine like DuckDuckGo or Brave. The same principle can be applied to almost any product or service—you'll just have to do a little research first. This may take a little extra time, but the benefits it'll give you in both the short and long term are well worth it.
For starters, these types of businesses are far more likely to keep your personal information private and secure. But beyond that, choosing to do business with companies that prioritize privacy and are transparent about their AI practices helps to set a better standard for consumer privacy in the future. Once businesses understand that customers expect their privacy to be respected, more will be forced to prioritize it.
5. Stay Informed About AI Privacy Regulations
You can't effectively protect your data privacy if you don't understand your rights. It's not easy—governments and regulatory bodies are continually working on laws in an effort to keep up with the rapid advancements in AI technology.
You may have seen how this has affected writers and artists as AI threatens their jobs. But it also applies to consumer privacy.
For now, here are some key regulations you should be aware of:
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): This EU law is designed to give individuals more control over their data and requires companies to obtain explicit consent before collecting or processing it.
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): Similar to the GDPR, this state law gives residents of California the right to know what personal information businesses collect about them and opt out of having it sold.
- National AI Initiative Act: Passed in 2021, this U.S. law provides a roadmap for developing AI technologies while prioritizing privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.
AI May Be Advancing Rapidly, but You Have More Control Than You Think
Yes, AI will continue to evolve at an almost scary pace—and so will the challenges that come with these advancements. However, you can take steps to maintain control over your personal information throughout these changes. The key is to stay informed, practice good digital hygiene, and take the time to safeguard your personal information.
That being said, the responsibility of protecting consumer privacy in an AI-driven world shouldn't just fall on their shoulders. Policymakers and tech companies also need to take steps to ensure that advancements in technology don't threaten the privacy or security of individuals. This isn't likely to happen, though, without persistent advocacy and consumers voicing their concerns—whether by contacting policymakers directly or only supporting businesses that prioritize their well-being.
