Artificial intelligence has very quickly become a tool we turn to for work, searching the internet, or talking about personal matters. A survey by DuckDuckGo, conducted among nearly 2,000 people, paints a concerning picture: we are increasingly sharing increasingly personal things with AI, much more than we perhaps imagine.
One in three users tells AI their secrets
According to DuckDuckGo’s study, 32% of those of us who use chatbots have told an AI something that, until a few years ago, we’d normally tell only friends, family, or medical professionals. Among the most enthusiastic AI users, the figure reaches 56%, while among parents it rises to 43%. AI is becoming our digital confidant and that has its risks.
The real issue is what happens afterward. Only 47% of respondents were clear that most chatbots use conversations to train their models and only 25% knew that a chat may be requested in legal proceedings. That’s why it’s important to protect your private data in ChatGPT and review its privacy settings, since 58% of participants say they feel uncomfortable with their conversations being used for training.
DuckDuckGo raises an interesting point: the most interesting piece of data for a tech company may be in our next question. We saw something similar when talking about how Google can use our information to train its AI and how opting out as soon as possible is the best move. Every conversation deserves at least as much care as the last, if not more. Our data should stay ours.
