Artificial Intelligence

What is artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a machine or software to perform tasks that normally require the input of human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing images, making decisions or learning. AI is based on algorithms that process large quantities of data to identify patterns, rules or solutions.

What are the areas of application for AI?

AI is present in many areas of our daily lives, often without our being aware of it. Here are a few concrete examples:

• Machine translation: Thanks to AI, it’s now possible to instantly translate texts or words from one language to another, with a quality increasingly comparable to that of human translation. Applications such as Google Translate and DeepL make it easy to communicate with people all over the world.
• Voice recognition: AI can convert voice into text, or vice versa, and understand a user’s intentions or requests. Virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant can answer questions, control connected devices, play music or make calls.
• Personalized recommendation: AI analyzes a user’s preferences, habits or needs to suggest products, services or content tailored to their tastes. Platforms such as Netflix, Spotify and Amazon use AI to suggest films, songs or articles that their customers might like.
• Fraud detection: AI can detect anomalies, suspicious behavior or hacking attempts in financial transactions, social networks or computer systems. Software such as IBM Watson or Microsoft Azure use AI to protect user data and security.
• Autonomous driving: AI enables vehicles to be controlled without human intervention, using sensors, cameras and maps to analyze the environment, avoid obstacles, comply with traffic regulations and optimize journeys. Companies such as Tesla, Uber and Google are developing self-driving cars, trucks and taxis.

How can you protect your personal data from AI?

Protection of personal data

AI requires the collection and processing of sensitive information about users, such as their identity, location, history or preferences. These data can be used for malicious purposes, such as identity theft, manipulation or discrimination. So it’s important to follow best privacy and security practices.

Legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe or the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) in Canada aims to protect users’ rights in the face of AI. This legislation requires AI players to respect principles such as transparency, minimization, purpose, security, accountability or user consent.

Best practices for the use of your personal data

In the face of AI, users have a role to play in protecting their personal data. There are several ways to limit the exposure of your data to AI:

• Learn about applications or services that use AI, by consulting their privacy policy, disclaimer, ethical distinction or trust score.
• Set up your accounts and devices to reduce the amount of data shared with AI, by disabling certain features, limiting permissions, deleting cookies or using private mode.
• Control your personal data online, by checking information published on social networks, modifying or deleting inaccurate or obsolete data, requesting access or portability of data, or reporting abuse or violations of rights.
• Use alternative tools or privacy-friendly solutions, by opting for platforms or software that guarantee data protection, using search engines or browsers that don’t collect data, or using encryption or anonymization services.

These best practices enable users to protect themselves against AI-related risks, but also to assert their rights and interests against AI players.

In conclusion, the role of AI users

The evolution of artificial intelligence will increasingly change our daily lives, making possible what was once unthinkable. It assists us in our communications, optimizes our work and enriches our entertainment. However, it’s crucial to consider the ethical implications and challenges to privacy, security and employment that this technology entails. AI is not an end in itself, but a powerful tool that, used wisely, can improve your life and your day-to-day.