This is Nosy Eye. The newsletter that breaks down privacy into tiny little bytes. So you can much on them at your convenience.

It’s Friday, everyone’s feeling great. Let’s get into it. Here’s what we got for you today:

• ChatGPT and potential AI risks

• Action Tip of the Day

The Double Edged Sword of AI Tools

Some of us love the emergence of AI tools. They make business operations easier, help people explore their creativity, improve the experience of modern apps, and more.

Some of us don’t love AI as much. They’re data-sucking ticks, economically disruptive, the idea of creating realistic false identities is scary to say the least, and much more.

We’re not going to take a stance here as to advise whether or not you should embrace the new tech. Rather, we’ll simply lay out the risks and things you should be mindful of when exploring AI.

Tell Me About the Data

The data that AI conversation bots use is aggregated from various sources around the web.

This includes data that you put online, such as personal information, contacts, and even sensitive information about your employer.

AI bots rely on all the text you put out online, including your distinct writing style.

Many of these tools are powered by OpenAI, which has gotten a lot of criticism for its lack of transparency.

Their source code is anything but open, which means that it's difficult to know exactly how the tool works and how it processes the data it collects.

What can you do to protect yourself when using AI bots and tools? Well the best option is to not use them at all.

However, we understand that option isn’t so realistic considering the growth of the current crop of AI apps.

So if you do choose to use them, it's important to think about the information you're inputting. And see whether or not you can filter or alter it in some way to anonymize yourself for protection.

For example, if you're inputting sensitive information about a company you work for, alter some of the details to provide yourself with some cover.

The same goes for personal contacts and any other information you're putting into the bot. Be mindful of what you're sharing and think about the potential risks associated with it.

We express extra caution here simply because many of us are in the dark about how data flows within these companies.

Our advice may seem basic, but it is nonetheless fundamental and will help you in the long run as these tools grow.

If you don’t come away with any lesson but one, let it be this:

Nothing comes for free. If the product is free, you’re the product. 

So it's essential to know the trade-off between convenience and privacy when using these tools.

Action Tip of the Day

Use throw-away email accounts and credentials when using AI tools.

This will help protect you from potential and likely data breaches. Your risk profile is much lower when using accounts that have no data tied to your identity.

That's all we have for you today. There's plenty more, of course. If there’s something you want us to cover in a future letter. Don’t be shy. Let us know and we’ll get to work for you.

Anyways, bye for now.

DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is strictly educational. Please do not use easily identifiable data online, as you do not know who is going to give it away