Data Protection Officer explains: What is artificial intelligence allowed to do? And what not?

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The Italian data protection authority accuses the American software company Open AI of violating data protection regulations – with its chatbot ChatGPT, which uses artificial intelligence. Open AI now has 30 days to respond to the allegations.

A good opportunity to find out what rights apply in Switzerland towards manufacturers, providers or users of artificial intelligent systems. The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Information (Edöb) advises citizens, companies and private organizations, as well as the federal government on data protection issues. His recommendations go far beyond those of other experts.

• The right to transparency. Anyone who produces, offers or uses AI systems must disclose what purpose they pursue, how the system works and what data sources they use.
• The right to object to the automatic processing of my personal data. AI systems are not allowed to use my personal data without my permission. Personal data includes name, address or year of birth. The law also defines a special group of personal data, the processing of which entails a particularly high risk of violation of fundamental rights. This includes, for example, religious, ideological or political views, information about health and about administrative or criminal prosecutions. An AI is also not allowed to process this data if I don’t want it to.
• The right to request that individual automated decisions be reviewed by a human. Banks now use AI systems to assess whether someone is creditworthy. In HR departments, artificial intelligence makes a preliminary decision whether someone is hired or not. If a loan application or job application has been decided solely by an AI, I can request a reassessment by a real person in the company.
• The right to know whether I am speaking or corresponding with a machine. More and more companies rely on artificially intelligent voice robots for customer contact. If I ask for it, the company must provide me with information about it. The following law is also closely related to this.
• The right to know whether programs are being used that enable the falsification of faces, images or voice messages of identifiable individuals.
• The right to know whether the data I have entered will be further processed to improve the self-learning programs or for other purposes. To deliver satisfactory results, most AI applications rely on new data. The user of the software must tell me whether my data is being recorded.
• Right to data disclosure or data portability. I can request any operator of artificially intelligent applications to disclose my personal data.
• Right to correct and delete incorrect data. My personal information must be correct. The operator of an AI application must correct any incorrect data. If I ask for it, he will have to delete all my personal information, whether it is correct or not.
• Right to information about data security breaches. If an AI application operator uses my personal data and is hacked, they must notify me. This reporting obligation also applies to other events (malware, loss or theft of storage media) that violate data security.

The Edöb advises citizens who feel that their rights have been violated to send their demands in writing to the companies involved. If you are not satisfied with the answer, you have the option to forward it to the Edöb. “We will analyze them and contact the companies if the messages are justified,” said an Edöb spokeswoman.

In case of serious individual violations of honor and personality caused by artificial intelligence, you should contact a lawyer. If this does not achieve the goal, it may be advisable to go to civil court, as the Edöb cannot enforce financial compensation for those affected.

Source:Blick