The Imminent Clash Between AI and Our Privacy
In the not-so-distant future, a wave of AI-integrated hardware devices is set to revolutionize our lives. We’re on the cusp of a revelation as Humane unveils its enigmatic “AI pin,” Rewind promises a pendant that tracks our digital and physical existence, and there’s even a tantalizing hint of Apple’s Jony Ive partnering with OpenAI to craft an AI gadget. It’s a momentous leap forward for AI, akin to the iconic iPhone moment. But there’s a price to pay, and it’s not just a financial one; it’s our privacy that’s at stake.
Privacy’s death has been declared and debunked multiple times over the years in response to various technological advances. From live location sharing on mobile devices to the proliferation of social networks and the ensuing social graphs, the release of massive credentials and personally identifiable information (PII), and more, privacy’s demise has been foretold. Generative AI, the kind made famous by OpenAI and ChatGPT, is a new and voracious predator of privacy, leaving none unscathed.
At a recent TechCrunch Disrupt event, Signal President Meredith Whittaker, one of the few tech figures willing to confront AI’s realistic threats, labeled AI as “surveillance technology.” AI’s very nature necessitates a surveillance business model, demanding the collection of our data. It’s also surveillance in its use, with image recognition, sentiment analysis, and countless other applications.
But the trade-offs are made for a semblance of thinking and knowing in a computer, not actual consciousness. While today’s Large Language Models (LLMs) can convincingly mimic human behavior in specific situations, they fall short of replicating human knowledge or thought. To reach their current performance levels, models like ChatGPT rely on vast amounts of data, often collected without individuals fully comprehending the implications of sharing that data.
And it’s not just digital information that’s in the crosshairs. Devices like Humane’s AI pin, Rewind’s pendant, and Facebook’s Meta Smartglasses, poised to provide real-world information on demand, are venturing into the realm of collecting physical world data. These devices blur the line between the digital and physical, raising new privacy concerns.
Some companies in this space have taken steps to address these concerns. Humane’s AI pin, for example, has a yellow LED that signals when it’s capturing. Meta’s Smartglasses disable recording if tampering or obstruction of the LED is detected, and Rewind has adopted a privacy-first approach. However, history suggests that the market and regulators tend to accept incremental incursions on privacy.
A leap to a truly sentient computer, capable of being a virtual companion with a comprehensive knowledge of our lives, demands a forfeiture of data on an unprecedented scale. The concept of ‘privacy’ as we know it today may no longer suffice in this new era. We may need to redefine privacy, finding a way to preserve its essence in the face of evolving technology.
In conclusion, the path to AI’s iPhone moment inevitably involves a reevaluation of our understanding of privacy. As AI advances, the concept of privacy is challenged, forcing companies, like Apple, that have long championed privacy as a differentiator into a peculiar position. The delicate balance between AI progress and individual privacy is a challenge that will define the next decade and beyond.
