As the use of artificial intelligence in everyday life increases, conversations with chatbots have also become more personal. Users sometimes share information with these tools that they would never publish on a search engine or social networks; from family and work problems to financial and health issues.
Now the main question is: what fate do these data ultimately meet?
Tech companies' policies are not the same, and the amount of data storage and use varies among services; therefore the user does not necessarily know how their information is managed.
Chatbots know more about us than search engines
The important difference between chatbots and search engines is the nature of the information users provide. A long conversation with a chatbot can reveal details about a person's life, personality, interests and circumstances and lead to the formation of a broader picture of the user.
So the concern is not only using messages to train the model; the more important issue is whether these data can be used to build a personal profile of the user and influence how the system interacts with them.
The approaches of the companies that own these chatbots are not the same; Apple emphasizes on-device processing and reducing data transfer to central servers, while Meta has considered a broader scope for user data in its privacy policy. Other AI services are also between these two approaches; therefore reviewing the terms of use and privacy policy of each service is essential.
The legal gap remains serious
One of the main problems is the speed of technology development compared to the formation of laws. In many countries there is still no completely clear framework for collecting and using data from chatbot conversations and companies have considerable discretion in determining how to process information. Therefore transparency about the type of data, retention period, purpose of use and the possibility of deletion becomes more important.
How can users be more cautious?
Until more comprehensive laws are formed, users are better off not providing any information to a chatbot that they would not be willing to give to a tech company. Passwords, banking information, access keys, confidential documents, sensitive identity information and trade secrets should not be provided to AI in order to obtain better answers.
In addition to these items, reviewing privacy settings, history storage, model training and data deletion can also reduce risk.
With the expansion of AI, the other important question is not only "Does AI read our conversation?" but we must ask what it learns about us from the sum of our conversations and how that understanding is used. The more personal the interaction becomes, the greater the value and sensitivity of this data.