Privacy of Personal Data in the Generative AI Data Lifecycle

Abstract

Generative AI (“GenAI”) is a powerful tool in the content generation toolbox. Its modern debut via applications like ChatGPT and DALL-E enamored users with human-like renditions of text and images. As new user accounts grew exponentially, these models soon gained a foothold in various industries, from law to medicine to music. However, the use of personal data to develop and update GenAI models can harm individuals by disclosing personal data, including sensitive personal data, to a broad audience; enabling individual profiling for targeting, monitoring, and potential discrimination; producing false information; and limiting an individual’s ability to keep their personal data private. This article examines how the current approaches to data privacy in the US and EU govern personal data in the GenAI data lifecycle. We focus specifically on the flow of personal data in the GenAI data lifecycle because its collection and use have important data privacy implications for users.