AI: Your Robot Sidekick—Now Fetching Coffee and Brainstorming Brilliant Ideas

Some of you may be using Artificial Intelligence (AI) at work or in your personal life.  It’s great, isn’t it?!  We work faster by enhancing our productivity!  We’re more creative!  We can get access to real-time information super-fast!  I don’t mean to scare you, but with all good things, risks are also involved.  Let’s explore how to use AI safely and be smart about it. 

AI clearly saves time.  It can assist with research and analysis.  It can help generate content quickly when writing.  It can also automate repetitive tasks.  Did you know you can use AI to generate creative content?  It can be used to help brainstorm and assist in writing projects, create images, and provide different options and styles, too!  You can also have access to quick information on current events and information at your fingertips…fast! 

I bet you’re thinking…I’m sold!  Sign me up!  When can I start using this?  Whoa there!  Let’s do it safely and be smart about it.

1. Choose secure tools. 

   • Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT are good choices.

2. Always remember to protect your personal information. 

   • Avoid entering especially sensitive information such as passwords, financial information, and Social Security Number.  Whatever you put in an AI tool, there’s a potential risk to user privacy and sensitive information, especially if it's organizational data being processed. 

3. Read the privacy policy of the tool you’re using. 

   • If you’re uncomfortable with how they’ll collect, use, and share your data, don’t use it!

4. Adjust your privacy settings. 

   • Choose to opt out of having your chats/queries used for future model training.  Limit what information you share is publicly accessible or collected by the tool.

5. Limit permissions to the application. 

   • Don’t unnecessarily grant your camera, microphone, or location access. 

6. Maintain critical thinking to avoid scams and misinformation. 

   • Cross-reference information harvested from AI with multiple sources.

7. Double-check your AI-generated content. 

   • AI can make mistakes, sometimes known as “hallucinations,” or fabricate information that appears legit but can be inaccurate and misleading.  Verify all critical details.  You are responsible for your content, so be sure to fact-check!

Here are some other helpful tips to keep in mind too!

• Be extra wary of phishing and scams.  AI generated phishing attacks and scams are on the rise and quite convincing.  (Eminem singing Gospel…really?  No, he didn’t.)  But yes, it can be a video or audio file.  Stay aware!

• Don’t click on that link or download that file!  You should always use caution, but be extra vigilant when it’s coming from an AI-generated message.

• AI can crack weak passwords, so set strong, unique passwords on your accounts and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) when you can.

 AI is pretty cool, huh?   It’s a neat tool that can help us save time and get creative, but don’t rely on AI too much.  It’s not meant to replace us!  Its purpose is to be an assistant tool, and it is definitely not meant to be an important decision maker.  Pick your morning cereal?  Sure, but maybe not your child’s name.  Be transparent when you do use AI.  Was AI used to assist in writing this article?  You betcha.

So remember, stay vigilant, stay safe, save time, and have fun!