The AI Wild West: Unraveling the Security and Privacy Risks of GenAI Apps

The AI Wild West: Unraveling the Security and Privacy Risks of GenAI Apps

September 5, 2024 at 10:24AM

The use of Generative AI in workplaces is widespread, with about a quarter of employees using or having tried it. Research on 1,000 enterprise employees revealed that once users start using GenAI, they heavily engage with an average of 8.25 apps per month. Content creation is the dominant use case, with privacy and security concerns emphasized. Best practices for organizations include regular audits, clear policies, user training, and opt-out options.

From the meeting notes, we gathered the following key takeaways:

1. The use of Generative AI within the workplace has seen a significant increase, with approximately a quarter of employees having used or tried AI in the workplace. However, obtaining specific data on the types of apps being used and their purposes has been challenging.

2. Research conducted on a random sample of 1,000 enterprise employees revealed that once employees start using GenAI, they tend to extensively utilize multiple applications, with an average of 8.25 apps being used per month. There are power users who use more than 12 apps and a smaller group that only uses one app.

3. There are approximately 5,020 GenAI or GenAI-enabled tools currently in use, with a focus on content editing, creation, summarization, and translation, as well as business tools and customer service support.

4. The most popular app among users is ChatGPT, which was used by 84% of the sample in July.

5. The primary use cases for GenAI apps include content creation, summarization, editing, software engineering, data interpretation, processing, and analysis, business and finance, and problem solving and troubleshooting.

6. Approximately a third of the apps declare they train on customer data, raising privacy and security concerns. Few apps have a ‘Trust Center’ to easily access security and privacy settings.

7. Best practices for organizations using GenAI include conducting regular audits of the apps used, developing and enforcing clear data usage and AI policies, educating employees about the risks and best practices, and opting out of content training where possible to protect intellectual property.

These takeaways provide valuable insights into the widespread use of GenAI within the workplace and the associated challenges and best practices for organizations.

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