Privacy can no longer be considered strictly personal in the age of AI

In an op-ed for The New York Times (£), University of Oxford Professor Maximilian Kasy discusses that the increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into critical life functions, such as applying for a new job or bank loan, and in areas like law enforcement, means that "privacy can no longer be defended one person at a time." 

Kasy explains that this is because AI systems do not require an individual's personal data to predict their behaviour; instead, they learn patterns from the collective actions of people like you. For instance, an AI may screen a job applicant based on predicted behaviours, such as union participation or starting a family, drawn from broader demographic data, regardless of the individual's digital privacy efforts.

The shift necessitates exerting collective control over data to ensure AI is used for public benefit, not harm. Kasy concludes that the future of AI hinges on who controls the data and whose values guide the machines.

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