Experts: Never tell ChatGPT this, and where your data goes

Experts are urging caution regarding the information shared with artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, advising users to refrain from inputting anything they wouldn't publicly disclose. Dr. Darius Amilevičius, an AI expert and advisor at the Lithuanian State Digital Solutions Agency, and Darius Povilaitis, Head of Cybersecurity at Telia, stress the importance of understanding the privacy implications of different account types.

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Free accounts should be viewed as a public conversation in a cafe – anyone can overhear. If you have a business-level account, like an 'Enterprise,' it's more like a private conversation with a lawyer, but you still need to think carefully about what you say.

"Free accounts should be viewed as a public conversation in a cafe – anyone can overhear," Dr. Amilevičius explained. "If you have a business-level account, like an 'Enterprise,' it's more like a private conversation with a lawyer, but you still need to think carefully about what you say." He recommends only entering information that could be shared with an external consultant who has no right to know your secrets, as uploading sensitive data to a personal account means losing control over its storage, review, and use for system improvement.

Both experts agree that users should avoid sharing personal data, passwords, medical or financial information, confidential work documents, business strategies, client lists, or unique technical solutions with ChatGPT. Povilaitis added, "AI tools are powerful and useful, but they are not a substitute for a safe. Users often underestimate that a 'private' chat with a chatbot is not the same as a conversation with a person in terms of confidentiality."

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AI tools are powerful and useful, but they are not a substitute for a safe. Users often underestimate that a 'private' chat with a chatbot is not the same as a conversation with a person in terms of confidentiality.

When data is entered, it travels to the service provider's infrastructure to generate a response. What happens next depends on user settings. Data can be stored for history, used to improve the service, or handled differently based on the account type, with business accounts generally offering more robust data protection for model training.

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Why am I so strict on this issue? Because once you upload such information to a personal account, you instantly lose control of it. You can no longer be sure where it will be stored, who will review it, or how it will be used to improve the system itself.