Be Careful What You Feed the AI – Why ChatGPT Agents Raise the Stakes for Your Privacy

OpenAI has just launched ChatGPT Agent, a more autonomous and powerful version of its chatbot. Agentic AI applications differ from traditional chatbots because they don’t just generate text in response to your prompts; they act on your behalf, which raises greater privacy and security risks.

The ChatGPT agent will need access to external tools, services, and personal information, to which you will grant access.

Every time you give an agent permission to interact with one of these tools, you’re essentially handing it the keys to your life, and most of the time irrevocably.

So far we did not comprehend the basic use of ChatGPT, which already carries privacy risks. Yet with the ChatGPT Agent, those risks multiply. 

OpenAI is well aware that malicious actors will attempt to trick AI agents into revealing private information or anything the agent can access in that matter. Even Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, posted on X to warn users: “Give agents the minimum access required to complete a task.”

Unfortunately, it seems like another Microsoft moment, yet the reality is sobering: for many, the privacy and security risks of letting an AI agent handle a task will far outweigh the benefits.

The pace of AI development far exceeds the pace of AI literacy. Most people still don’t fully understand the privacy risks of plain-old ChatGPT, yet they’re now being handed a feature with exponentially greater access and risk.

So before you let an AI agent into your wallet, calendar, or inbox, ask yourself, “Am I going to give my wallet (actually a mobile phone with a PIN today) to a stranger on the street?”

And when in doubt, feed it as little as possible. (Or as per the words of a classic: Think… before you drive me crazy!)

#AIbot #ChatGPT #Educli #Edtech #Besmart