Did you know that the tricky and annoying CAPTCHA tests after entering a password or filling out a form to prove that you’re fully human are actually helping train AI?
I didn’t and neither did my husband until recently. The CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test) to filter out the overwhelming armies of spambots, is slowly being replaced by Passkeys. They may appear a bit intimidating at first, but passkeys are relatively easy to set-up. I’ve now established several and when they don’t work, there are other options you can temporarily use to login.
The majority of us know that our data is being used in ways we don’t agree with or in ways we don’t even realize. We skim over the user agreement and privacy policy quickly scrolling to the bottom to click the Agree icon.
Nothing is free. There is a price for privacy.
In 2016, half a billion people installed Pokémon Go, a free game using your smartphone. Of the millions who pointed their phones at buildings, monuments and statues, few knew that they were being used to build AI-powered map models. Now, many accept data collection as standard for free mobile games, while others are concerned by these recent revelations that their location scans and augmented reality (AR) photos have been used to train spatial AI models for autonomous robotics.
One of the newest areas where you don’t have an option to voluntarily opt-in or out, are Flock cameras. I noticed one of these on a road just off the main road I drive to go almost anywhere. The road it is on, I rarely take but I had to look it up to find out what it was. They are AI-powered license plate readers (ALPR) and motion-activated video cameras used by law enforcement, businesses and HOAs. They capture vehicle details including license plates, make, model, color and unique vehicle modifications like bumper stickers or roof racks.
These aren’t free but many times you have no input and they just show up somewhere capturing your vehicle’s fingerprint. Unlike the red light cameras where there are signs indicating a camera before you drive through the intersection, these just look like a solar panel on top of a pole.
Then again, there are cameras capturing you and your vehicle on tollways, in parking lots, at businesses or even at home if you have a garage door opener with a camera.
There will always be a perpetual rabbit hole you can wind yourself into on any technology. At some point, you have to weigh the risks vs. benefits of what technology you use and educating yourself on how your data could be exposed or used and whether using the technology is worth it. And many times, it is. You can almost always change settings and limit what is made public.
Know that some data will always be open to public view, your house, your car, public records.
Just as your finances are personal so is your technology use and what you deem worthwhile despite the price of your privacy. More focus needs to be on data security measures and protocols. Data breaches and cyberattacks are most prevalent on businesses, institutions and governments who lack capabilities to secure your data even when you do your best to secure the access.
By Typing Captcha, you are Actually Helping AI’s Training | AP News
Pokémon Go Data Wasn’t Shared With Drone Company, Niantic Spatial Says
Why Flock Safety Finds Itself in a Surveillance Backlash
The Internet and Data Privacy | Security.org
Featured Image – Did you know that YouTube has cat entertainment that streams for hours. And, yes, our screens have paw prints all over them.