Data Safety and Privacy
On this page, you'll find information on how safe your data is in your hands, and how you and millions of others end up giving it away. You'll also find information on just how safe your data is while training AI, and what companies are taking data privacy seriously (and which aren't).
How Companies Get You to Sign Away Your Data
1. Accepting the cookie policy on a website
- The most simple and effective way for a company to obtain your data
- Is primarily done through a pop-up you get when first visiting a website
2. Accepting the terms and conditions of an app
- Similar to the cookie policy on a website, but you instead agree to a terms and conditions, usually containing a privacy policy
- Differs from websites in that many apps will track you even when not directly using the app
These two methods are near ubiquitous when online, and this ubiquity is the design plan. The more you are confronted by cookie policies or a terms of services, the more numb you become to it. You quickly accept so you can move on with your day with no care in the world. That's the plan these tech companies rely on to collect your data.
- The most simple and effective way for a company to obtain your data
- Is primarily done through a pop-up you get when first visiting a website
2. Accepting the terms and conditions of an app
- Similar to the cookie policy on a website, but you instead agree to a terms and conditions, usually containing a privacy policy
- Differs from websites in that many apps will track you even when not directly using the app
These two methods are near ubiquitous when online, and this ubiquity is the design plan. The more you are confronted by cookie policies or a terms of services, the more numb you become to it. You quickly accept so you can move on with your day with no care in the world. That's the plan these tech companies rely on to collect your data.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that websites save to a your browser to track information about you. There are two main types of cookies.
1. First Party Cookies - Cookies created by the website that you visit and help provide you with a smoother experience. They save information like login info, website preferences, and shopping cart information. Importantly, these cookies are made by the website and used only by the website.
2. Third Party Cookies - Cookies created by a third party host, and which are accessible to a wide range of different websites. They track your data across the internet and are primarily used for adware services, providing you with tailored ads from your web history.
Third party cookies are most important when discussing AI, as they are ways for your browser to catalog all your internet activity and store it in one place. This makes them a very important source of AI training data, and a valuable commodity. More on cookies can be found here.
1. First Party Cookies - Cookies created by the website that you visit and help provide you with a smoother experience. They save information like login info, website preferences, and shopping cart information. Importantly, these cookies are made by the website and used only by the website.
2. Third Party Cookies - Cookies created by a third party host, and which are accessible to a wide range of different websites. They track your data across the internet and are primarily used for adware services, providing you with tailored ads from your web history.
Third party cookies are most important when discussing AI, as they are ways for your browser to catalog all your internet activity and store it in one place. This makes them a very important source of AI training data, and a valuable commodity. More on cookies can be found here.
Source: 123RF
Privacy Policies
At this point, I hope you're wondering how companies are able to do this. It seems that they have free access to your data, but how are they legally allowed to do that. The answer, alluded to above, is through a privacy policy. Attached below is a short video outlining what a privacy policy is and how it grants websites access to your data.
An eForms video providing an overview of a privacy policy.
How Safe is Your Data from Being Stolen or Used Without Permission?
According to Mark Campbell, in his article "Protecting AI: We Built the Brains, but What About Helmets," collecting user data to train AI compiles and catalogs all the user data into one location, making it exceptionally valuable for data thieves to steal. While modern AI is still in its infancy, we have yet to see an attack on AI data models. However, if past user data attacks like those at Yahoo (2013; 3 billion affected), Facebook (2021; 500 million affect), or LinkedIn (2021; 700 million affected) are anything to go by, then it's only a matter of time.
In the article "How to Design AI for Social Good: Seven Essential Factors," author Luciano Floridi makes a compelling point that governments and institutions of power are the most likely to take your data and invade your privacy. He claims that widespread panic can be used to grant governments with emergency access to your data. For instance, the article mentions how in 2014, during the Ebola outbreak, cellphone data records were used to track disease spread. Consolidating all your data into an AI model will make it easier for governments to access it during a situation of panic as they will be able to source everything from one place.
In the article "Online social networks security and privacy: comprehensive review and analysis," author Ankit Jain studies the ways that the personal data you post can be maliciously used for illegitimate purposes. The most simple method included was an attacker copying your social media accounts, mimicking you. Once they have disguised themselves, the malicious attacker could trick your friends and family into clicking on malware links, or even tricking them into giving the attacker money. These kinds of attacks are even more effective against older people, as discussed in this article written by John Alagood.
In the article "How to Design AI for Social Good: Seven Essential Factors," author Luciano Floridi makes a compelling point that governments and institutions of power are the most likely to take your data and invade your privacy. He claims that widespread panic can be used to grant governments with emergency access to your data. For instance, the article mentions how in 2014, during the Ebola outbreak, cellphone data records were used to track disease spread. Consolidating all your data into an AI model will make it easier for governments to access it during a situation of panic as they will be able to source everything from one place.
In the article "Online social networks security and privacy: comprehensive review and analysis," author Ankit Jain studies the ways that the personal data you post can be maliciously used for illegitimate purposes. The most simple method included was an attacker copying your social media accounts, mimicking you. Once they have disguised themselves, the malicious attacker could trick your friends and family into clicking on malware links, or even tricking them into giving the attacker money. These kinds of attacks are even more effective against older people, as discussed in this article written by John Alagood.
