Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of everyday life. AI tools can help people brainstorm ideas, summarize information, improve writing, answer questions, and complete routine tasks more efficiently. But as these tools become more common, it is important to remember to never enter private, confidential, or sensitive information into an AI tool unless you are specifically authorized to do so and the tool has been approved for that type of information.
Here are some tips to guide your use of artificial intelligence tools.
Think Before You Upload
Using an AI tool can feel much like having a conversation. You type a question, upload a document, or provide information, and the system responds. That convenience can make it easy to forget that you are sharing data with a technology platform.
Before entering information into an AI system, stop and ask yourself: Would I be comfortable sharing this information outside its intended audience? If the answer is no, do not upload or paste it into an unapproved AI tool.
Sensitive information can include:
- Customer names, addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses;
- Account or financial information;
- Social Security numbers or other government identification numbers;
- Passwords, PINs, security codes, or login credentials;
- Employee or personnel information;
- Confidential business plans, reports, and internal communications;
- Proprietary information or documents; and
- Any information protected by your organization's privacy or security policies.
Removing a person's name may not always be enough. A combination of other details could still make an individual, customer, or business identifiable.
Use Only Approved AI Tools
Not every AI service handles information in the same way. Before using AI for workplace information, employees should follow their organization's policies and use only approved applications.
A publicly available AI service that is appropriate for brainstorming a birthday invitation, for example, may not be appropriate for handling customer information or an internal business document.
If you are unsure whether a particular AI tool is approved for business use or whether certain information may be entered into it, check with the appropriate supervisor, IT, information security, privacy, or compliance resource before proceeding.
Review AI-Generated Content Carefully
Protecting information is only one part of responsible AI use. AI-generated content should also be reviewed carefully.
AI systems can produce information that sounds convincing but is incorrect, incomplete, or misleading. They may misunderstand a question or provide outdated information. For important business decisions or customer communications, AI output should therefore be treated as a draft or assistance, not automatically as fact.
Before using AI-generated material:
- Verify important facts;
- Review names, numbers, dates, and calculations;
- Check the information against trusted sources;
- Make sure the content follows organizational policies and procedures; and
- Use human judgment before sharing, publishing, or acting on the result.
Be Especially Careful with Files
Uploading an entire document can expose considerably more information than typing a simple question. Before uploading a spreadsheet, PDF, Word document, image, or other file, consider everything the file contains.
A document created for one purpose may contain information that is unnecessary for the task you are asking AI to perform.
When possible, use only the minimum amount of non-sensitive information necessary to accomplish the task.
AI Safety Is Everyone's Responsibility
Artificial intelligence offers tremendous opportunities to improve productivity and creativity, but convenience should never come at the expense of privacy or security.
A good habit is to pause before you prompt. Ask yourself:
- Is this information private?
- Is it necessary to share?
- Am I using an approved tool?
- Have I removed information that does not need to be included?
Taking a few extra seconds to consider these questions can help protect customers, employees, and the organization while allowing everyone to benefit from AI responsibly.
AI is a tool. Use it thoughtfully, verify what it produces, and protect private information just as carefully as you would anywhere else.