AI, Data Ownership, Privacy and Databases: A Heartland Perspective
Artificial intelligence (AI) is here. It's reshaping things whether we like it or not. But today let's dive into a head-scratcher - who actually owns the data that fuels AI?
Funneling Text Suggestions from An Unlikely Place
You might've typed something on Google or LinkedIn and been grateful for those handy text suggestions. Ever wondered where they come from? They originated from the Enron Corpus. A database of old emails publicly available for scrutiny while investigating the Enron scandal.
Interesting right? Now how does this relate to AI and ethics? Let me explain.
Who Owns The Data Anyway?
When you're building an artificial language model, determining data ownership can be as clear as mud. You’d think whoever created the model owns it, right? That idea takes a knock when you start considering where that data came from—the ethical parameters around its sourcing—was it expressedly given up by users or simply scraped off websites by developers?
These are just some thoughts inspired by Luis Villa guest appearance on the ChangeLog. He's a programmer made lawyer.
Getting Our Feet Wet in Ethics
Case Study 1: Hollywood Meets AI with William Shatner & StoryFile
Let’s chat about William Shatner jumping onto the recording hot-seat with StoryFile. Users shoot questions at this video interface; meanwhile Shatner’s authentic responses hold down the fort—no fabricated information used here pal! This has to be in my opinion, the best way to be respectful to the individual's desires, and keeps the response true to it's context.
Case Study 2: More than Meets The Eye with James Vlahos
On flip side things get dicey when James Vlahos uses AI to chat with digital representation of his deceased father. Though Vlahos’s ‘dad’ seems pretty real, remember we’re dealing with a high-tech marionette here that mimics the source, rather than embodying it—just one of the many ethical puddles you might step into in this tech field!
Figuring Out AI: More Than 1's and 0's
According to Gary V, new tech should be about cutting out drudgery and making more room for electrifying stuff—the sort of thrill-of-the-chase excitement that got us into this high-speed industry. And yes, I’m nodding right along! His quick burst video clip nails it better than I ever could.
Folks fretted about job cuts even back in my ServiceNow days circa 2007 when John H voiced his concerns when I was automating some work. This feels like more of the same. This lets our brain focus on what really matters.
Bottom Line
Only use data you've made or have explicit permission to use when involving AI. With Scribe.monster I wrote every code example by hand it uses to suggest code. With the AI bot on my blog it is only using the content I've written.
Quick question though—you got any thoughts on this?