"Artificial intelligence is a data devourer. For effectiveness, it has to be, but scarcity of what it feeds on can be a serious problem, particularly for AI agents, the conversational robots with the ability to act on behalf of users to buy, respond to emails, and manage invoices and schedules, among dozens of other possibilities. To do so, they need to know about the person they are talking to, learn about their life, and violate their privacy which sometimes, they have permission to do."
"According to the report, AI web browser assistants execute widespread tracking, profiling, and personalization practices that raise serious privacy concerns. During tests employing a user profile invented by researchers, AI web browser assistants shared search information with their servers and even banking and health data, as well as the user's IP address. All demonstrated the ability to guess attributes like age, sex, salary, and interests of users and they utilized such information to personalize responses, even during different navigation sessions."
AI agents require detailed personal information to act on behalf of users, consuming vast amounts of behavioral data. Access to private data enables profiling and personalization that can lead to commercial manipulation, exclusion, or extortion. Researchers at University College London and Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria demonstrated that AI web browser assistants execute widespread tracking, profiling, and personalization practices. In tests using an invented user profile, assistants shared search histories, banking and health data, and IP addresses, and inferred attributes such as age, sex, salary, and interests to personalize responses across sessions. One assistant, Perplexity, showed no evidence of profiling or personalization. Big tech companies are exploring mitigations, but risks remain significant.
Read at english.elpais.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]