Privacy

Artificial Intelligence & Academia

Shot of a group of university students working on computers in the library at campus

Previous articles have discussed in-depth about the outsized effect artificial intelligence has on cybersecurity and on privacy laws, as well as how chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Co-Pilot, are fundamentally altering the world of academia (along with the potential privacy concerns that accompany their use).

So what risks do generative AI users face? And what they can do to better guard against potential attacks? The first set of risks has little to do with cybersecurity: for example, generative AI chatbots can not only get questions wrong, but they can also make up facts they believe to be correct; they can be biased with respect to leading questions from users; they can also be persuaded to produce toxic or offensive content without employing self-censorship. However, despite these risks, many users still find generative AI useful and, ultimately, a net-plus for their schooling or work products.

This is where the second set of risks becomes critical. Because artificial intelligence requires immense amounts of data to effectively work (remember generative AI is only as good as the information you feed it), this means that it can capture a substantial portion of your personal data, as well. Bad actors can gain access to this data, which means bypassing attacks on your personal device (otherwise required for conventional attacks). This is one of many reasons why you should avoid sharing personal or company information with generative AI. Additionally, as academic institutions and workplaces continue to embrace generative AI, this can lead to increased pressure to provide personal data—especially when these institutions do not understand how to implement proper cybersecurity safeguards.

To protect yourself against attacks on generative AI, it is essential to continually backup your information and use encryption whenever possible. Install antivirus and anti-malware software on any devices you might utilize when accessing generative AI. If you can, store your most sensitive data on a hard disk as opposed to your local disk.