AI + The New Human Frontier

CHAPTER 22Trust + Privacy

Territorial privacy refers to one's right to privacy over their individual spaces. This sense of privacy is increasingly being hijacked by technology. Personal privacy—and the right to it—is emerging as a fundamental aspect of trust decay. Values around privacy are very much influenced by what people are accustomed to—in other words, their culture, geography, environment, and generational norms. But across the board, more of our behaviors, work styles, interactions, movements, purchasing decisions, etc. are being influenced by AI—and the governments, companies, and platforms that leverage and exploit it. With each passing day, the amount of data being collected about every one of us grows exponentially. As AI, smart sensors, advanced software, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) increasingly permeate everything around us, people (both voluntarily and involuntarily) are getting swept up in a digital undertow. From social media platforms to online shopping websites, our digital footprints are constantly being tracked and analyzed. AI systems could even help identify and track people who assume their online behavior is anonymous.

There are numerous examples of this at play, including:

• Researchers in China have created an AI that can allegedly identify crimes and file charges against criminals—basically, a powerful computer with the ability to put people in prison.¹ This is challenging, in part, because AI systems are very easy to dupe. China is ...