AI Knows More About You Than You Realize

Artificial intelligence has become so woven into daily life that most people barely think about what they reveal when they use it. We hand AI our ideas, frustrations, documents, fears, creative drafts, private questions, and even pieces of our identity. With its constant available and nearly instant responses, AI has become a trusted assistant for business leaders and everyday users. But, AI’s convenience hides a quieter, more complicated truth: Everything you say, can and may be used against you. Whatever you type, upload, or ask can be stored, reviewed, repurposed, summarized, and exposed in ways most people never imagined. These consequences are not hypothetical. They are happening now, sometimes in irreversible ways. The risks affect companies and individuals equally. And to use AI safely, both need to understand not only what can go wrong, but what to do to stay protected. AI doesn’t forget When someone enters text into an AI tool, that information often doesn’t simply disappear when the chat closes. Inputs may be stored on multiple servers, kept in system logs, sent to third-party vendors, or used to train future models, even if the user believes they’ve opted out. This means the resignation letter you asked AI to rewrite or the confidential document you uploaded for summarization might still exist inside a system you don’t control. And in several high-profile incidents, from Samsung engineers to global platform leaks, private data has already resurfaced or been exposed. Leaders need to understand that AI tools are not just productivity enhancers. They are data collection ecosystems. And individuals need to understand that treating AI like a diary or a therapist can unintentionally create a permanent digital footprint. People can and do see your AI conversations Many AI companies use human reviewers, sometimes internal employees but often external contractors, to evaluate and improve model performance. These reviewers can access user inputs. In practice, that means a real person could potentially read your private messages, internal work files, sensitive questions, or photos you thought were seen only by a machine. At the business level, this creates compliance and confidentiality risks. At the individual level, it creates a very real loss of privacy. Knowing this, leaders and employees must stop assuming that AI interactions are private. They are not. AI makes up information—you’re accountable AI systems often present fabricated information with total confidence. Depending on how you prompt AI, this can include made-up statistics and imaginary case law. Incorrect business facts and misleading summaries also can appear. If a company publishes AI-generated content without verification, it risks legal liability, reputational harm, and loss of trust. And if an individual relies on AI for financial, medical, or legal guidance, the consequences can be personally damaging. For both businesses and individuals, the rule is the same: AI is a first draft, not a final answer. Identity is now vulnerable in ways most people don’t understand With only a few seconds of someone’s voice or a handful of photos, AI can create near-perfect clones, leading to scams, impersonation, deepfakes, and fraudulent communications. These tools are powerful enough that a voice clone can persuade a family member to send money. A fake video can damage a reputation before anyone questions its authenticity. This is a risk to every executive, every employee, and every consumer with an online presence. And it demands new levels of caution around what we share publicly. AI can influence behavior without users realizing it AI systems don’t just respond to you; they adapt to you. They learn your tone, your emotional triggers, your insecurities, your preferences, and your blind spots. Over time, they deliver information in a way that nudges your thinking or decision making. For business leaders, this means AI can shape internal communication, hiring decisions, or strategic thinking in subtle ways. For individuals, it means AI can influence mood, confidence, and even worldview. Using AI responsibly requires maintaining awareness—and retaining control. What must business leaders do? Business leaders need to act now before it’s too late and sensitive corporate data is put into AI. The tips below are just some of the ways business leaders can protect themselves, their employees, and their businesses. 1. Create clear internal AI use policies. Employees need guidance on what they can and cannot upload into AI tools, especially anything involving client data, proprietary information, or sensitive documents. 2. Restrict AI use for confidential or regulated data. Healthcare, finance, HR, and legal content should remain strictly off-limits unless a fully private, enterprise-grade AI system is in place. 3. Require human review for any AI-generated output. From emails to reports to marketing materials, AI is fast, but humans must verify accuracy. 4. Use premium, no-training versions of tools when possible. Many AI providers offer enterprise tiers that do not use your data for training. These are worth the investment. 5. Conduct periodic audits of where AI is being used inside the company. Unauthorized “shadow AI” is now a major compliance risk. What must individuals do? Individuals need to be mindful that anything put into AI could become public information. The tips below are intended as a starting point. 1. Never upload anything you wouldn’t hand to a stranger. If it’s too sensitive to say on speakerphone in a crowded room, it’s too sensitive to type into an AI tool. 2. Avoid sharing medical, legal, financial, or intimate personal information. These are the categories most likely to create long-term harm if exposed. 3. Verify every AI-generated fact. Assume AI is wrong until proven otherwise. 4. Protect your digital identity. Limit how much voice, video, and personal imagery you upload publicly. AI can reconstruct more than people think. 5. Keep AI as an assistant, not a replacement for your thinking. Use AI to support creativity and productivity, not to outsource judgment or personal decisions. The bottom line AI has unlocked remarkable efficiency, but it has also introduced risks we’ve never had to manage at this scale. Business leaders need to build guardrails before problems arise. Individuals need to treat AI tools with the same caution they apply to their most sensitive conversations. Using AI is not the risk. Using it casually is. The future belongs to companies and people who embrace AI with awareness, knowing that the technology is powerful, permanent, and still evolving. The more thoughtfully we use it now, the safer and more productive it will remain in the years ahead. BY SARA SHIKHMAN, FOUNDER OF LENGEA LAW