Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an essential part of modern society. Yet for many, it remains an abstract and mysterious concept. This article aims to demystify AI, in particular language models such as Chat GPT, and show how they can be used to good effect, while highlighting the risks associated with data confidentiality.
What is AI?
AI refers to computer systems capable of performing tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as speech recognition, decision-making or language translation. Among these systems, language models such as Chat GPT stand out for their ability to understand and generate text in a coherent and contextual manner.
Chat GPT: a powerful tool
Chat GPT, developed by OpenAI, is an advanced language model that uses deep learning algorithms to analyse and produce text. It can answer questions, write articles, create summaries and much more. It’s easy to use: just give it an instruction or a question, and it generates a relevant response.
Practical applications for Chat GPT
- Customer service: Chat GPT can be integrated into customer support systems to answer frequently asked questions, freeing up time for human employees to focus on more complex tasks.
- Content creation: marketing and communications professionals can use Chat GPT to generate content ideas, articles or social media posts.
- Education: teachers and students can benefit from Chat GPT to explain difficult concepts, generate exercises or even correct assignments.
The risks associated with data confidentiality
The use of AI, and in particular language models such as Chat GPT, raises important questions about data confidentiality.
Here are some key points to consider:
- Data collection: language models require large amounts of data to be trained. It is crucial to ensure that this data is collected ethically and with user consent.
- Data storage: the data used and generated by AI must be stored securely to prevent unauthorised access.
- Use of data: it is important to clearly define how the data will be used and to ensure that it is not exploited for malicious or unauthorised purposes.
- Transparency: users must be informed of how their data is collected, stored and used. Transparency is essential to establish trust.
Best practices for using AI
- Ethics and transparency: using AI ethically, respecting users’ privacy and being transparent about how data is used.
- Training and awareness: users need to be trained to understand capabilities and limitations of AI, so that they can use it to best effect.
- Security: ensure that the AI systems are secure against the cyber-attacks and malicious use.
AI, and in particular language models such as Chat GPT, offer incredible opportunities to improve efficiency and creativity in many areas. However, it is essential to consider the risks associated with data confidentiality and to adopt ethical and transparent practices in order to make the most of these technologies.
Important note:
This article was written in its entirety by Copilot, Microsoft’s AI based on ChatGPT, with the following prompt: ‘I work as a CIO in a large accountancy group. I have to write a 3,000-character article entitled ‘The proper use of Chat GPT and other AIs’. The article is aimed at a lay audience who want to learn about AI, it will emphasise the risks associated with data confidentiality.’
