The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a
report concerning privacy risks associated with utilizing AI in the federal
government.  The privacy risks raised by
experts include:

 

Risks Associated with Protecting Privacy When Using AI

The experts identified 10 key risks related to privacy when
using AI, including potential invasions of privacy from data aggregation and
the use of data for purposes exceeding what was originally intended. Table 1
identifies the 10 risks and associated descriptions.

Table 1: Expert-Identified Risks
Associated with Protecting Privacy When Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Risk
name

Associated
risk description

Data
persistence

Data
may continue to exist in AI systems and be difficult to extract/remove once
collected.

Data
re-identification

AI
has the ability to cross-reference multiple data sets from seemingly
independent and anonymous outputs to reidentify anonymized data.a

Generation
of deceptive or inaccurate outputs

AI
may be used to intentionally or unintentionally generate deceptive outputs
(e.g., deepfakes) or inaccurate outputs (e.g., hallucinations)b that
may result in harm towards individuals.

Improper
disclosure

AI
can reveal and cause improper sharing of individuals’ data when it infers
additional sensitive information from raw data.

Increased
accessibility to sensitive information

AI
can make sensitive information more accessible to a wider audience (e.g.,
data brokers) than intended.

Invasion
of privacy from data aggregation

AI
may combine various pieces of data about a person to make inferences beyond
what is explicitly captured in those data (e.g., social scoring),c which
can invade an individuals’ personal space and solitude by revealing private
information (e.g., health-related, financial, location).

Lack
of security over data

Inadequate
AI data requirements and storage practices can result in data breaches and
improper access.

Lack
of transparency related to data use

AI
may be used without providing individuals with notice and control over how
their data is being used.

Lack
of transparency in AI model algorithmic decision-making

The
workings of AI models could include decisions based on individual data that
one is unaware of and that can lead to privacy risks.

Secondary
use of data

The
use of personal data for purposes other than originally intended can be
exacerbated by AI’s ability to repurpose data.