Data-secure use of GenAI
Authors: Jenny Lawrence, Patrick Forrest, Martha O’Curry, Charlie Simpson, Oxford Brookes University, UK
When selecting an AI model or Gen AI software tool that suits your pedagogic innovation and intent, you must consider your ethical responsibility to safeguard protected, confidential or sensitive data. This means adhering to data security legislation in your national context, and your specific institution’s policy and practice.
AI models and Gen AI software tools might store, use or distribute data uploaded to them. This means they are not safe and secure. In the UK and EU they would not comply with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
We recommend only using AI models or software tools that are considered safe and secure in how they handle information, and as advised by your institution.
If your pedagogic innovation involves working with any sensitive, confidential or protected data, ask yourself these guiding questions for safe and secure AI use:
Do I fully understand the data protection and privacy settings on the AI tool/s?
What data, in prompts and in what is to be uploaded, will be given to them?
Do I or my students have the right to give it to them, is it our information and not someone else's?
Am I and my students happy for them to store, use and share this data with others?
Will sharing this data lead to harm or impact on mine or someone's freedoms and rights?
If you are not confident that a Gen AI tool is safe and secure then stop, choose an application licensed or recommended by your HEI or do some of your own research: for example you could check the privacy statement, or ask the web.
With all Gen AI tools, if you are not fully confident they are safe and secure, don't ask students to enter anything they wouldn't want a human reviewer to see, or the AI model or software tool to store, use, or distribute.
Note: Taken from original text devised and used by the Oxford Brookes University Gen AI Working Groups ‘Developing Gen AI Literacy’ workstream.
Contributing Authors:
Dr. Patrick Forrest, FRSC, is the Head of Information Assurance and Compliance at Oxford Brookes. He works tirelessly with others towards fostering the safe and responsible use of Gen AI.
Martha O’Curry SFHEA is a Senior Lecturer in Academic Literacies and leads Oxford Brookes University’s workstream on the institutional response to building Generative AI Literacy.
Dr. Charlie Simpson is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science and Global Partnership Faculty Lead at Oxford Brookes University, and serves on the university’s Gen AI Working Group.