What personal data not to share with AI in AI for Everyone - Mini Project: Build & Apply

What Personal Data Not to Share with AI

📖 Scenario: You want to learn how to protect your personal information when using AI tools online. This project will help you understand which types of personal data you should avoid sharing with AI systems to stay safe and private.

🎯 Goal: Build a clear list of personal data types that should not be shared with AI, along with reasons why. This will help you recognize and avoid sharing sensitive information when interacting with AI.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a list called personal_data with specific personal data types

Add a variable called data_to_avoid to highlight sensitive data

Use a loop to filter and create a list called avoid_sharing with only data types to avoid sharing

Add a final summary string called summary explaining why avoiding sharing this data is important

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Knowing what personal data not to share with AI helps protect your privacy and security when using online AI tools.

💼 Career

This knowledge is important for roles in digital safety, customer support, and anyone working with AI or data privacy.

1

Create a list of personal data types

Create a list called personal_data containing these exact strings: 'Full name', 'Home address', 'Phone number', 'Favorite color', 'Social security number', 'Email address', 'Bank account number', 'Pet's name'.

AI for Everyone

# Create the list personal_data with the exact items
# Your code here

Hint

Make sure to include all the exact strings in the list personal_data.

2

Mark sensitive data to avoid sharing

Create a list called data_to_avoid containing these exact strings: 'Home address', 'Social security number', 'Bank account number', 'Phone number'.

AI for Everyone

personal_data = ['Full name', 'Home address', 'Phone number', 'Favorite color', 'Social security number', 'Email address', 'Bank account number', "Pet's name"]
# Create the list data_to_avoid with the exact items
# Your code here

Hint

Include only the exact sensitive data items in data_to_avoid.

3

Filter the data to avoid sharing

Use a for loop with variable item to iterate over personal_data. Create a new list called avoid_sharing that includes only items from personal_data that are also in data_to_avoid.

AI for Everyone

personal_data = ['Full name', 'Home address', 'Phone number', 'Favorite color', 'Social security number', 'Email address', 'Bank account number', "Pet's name"]
data_to_avoid = ['Home address', 'Social security number', 'Bank account number', 'Phone number']
avoid_sharing = []
# Use a for loop to add items from personal_data to avoid_sharing if they are in data_to_avoid
# Your code here

Hint

Use a loop to check each item and add it to avoid_sharing only if it is in data_to_avoid.

4

Add a summary explaining why to avoid sharing

Create a string variable called summary with this exact text: 'Avoid sharing sensitive personal data with AI to protect your privacy and prevent identity theft.'

AI for Everyone

personal_data = ['Full name', 'Home address', 'Phone number', 'Favorite color', 'Social security number', 'Email address', 'Bank account number', "Pet's name"]
data_to_avoid = ['Home address', 'Social security number', 'Bank account number', 'Phone number']
avoid_sharing = []
for item in personal_data:
    if item in data_to_avoid:
        avoid_sharing.append(item)
# Create the summary string with the exact text
# Your code here

Hint

Type the exact summary text inside the string variable summary.

Practice

1. Which of the following types of personal data should you never share with an AI system?

easy

A. Your favorite food

B. Your favorite color

C. Your preferred movie genre

D. Your full home address

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand sensitive personal data

   Sensitive data includes information that can identify you or put your privacy at risk, such as your full home address.

2. Step 2: Compare options with sensitivity

   Options B, C, and D are harmless preferences, while Your full home address reveals private location details.

3. Final Answer:

   Your full home address -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Sensitive data = full home address [OK]

Hint: Avoid sharing anything that reveals your exact location [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking favorite color is sensitive
• Assuming all personal info is safe
• Ignoring privacy risks of location data

2. Which of these is the correct way to handle passwords when interacting with AI?

easy

A. Share your password only if the AI asks politely

B. Never share your password with AI or online services

C. Type your password openly to get better AI responses

D. Use your password as your AI username for convenience

Solution

1. Step 1: Recognize password sensitivity

   Passwords protect your accounts and should never be shared with anyone, including AI systems.

2. Step 2: Evaluate the options

   Only Never share your password with AI or online services advises never sharing passwords, which is the safe and correct practice.

3. Final Answer:

   Never share your password with AI or online services -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Password safety = never share [OK]

Hint: Passwords are private; never share them with AI [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking AI can be trusted with passwords
• Sharing passwords for convenience
• Ignoring security best practices

3. Consider this scenario: You input your credit card number into an AI chatbot. What is the most likely outcome?

medium

A. Your credit card details remain completely private and secure

B. The AI will automatically block your card for safety

C. The AI chatbot may store or misuse your financial data

D. Nothing happens because AI cannot access financial info

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand AI data handling risks

   AI chatbots may store or process data you share, which can lead to misuse if sensitive financial info is given.

2. Step 2: Analyze each option's realism

   Your credit card details remain completely private and secure is unsafe to assume; C and D are incorrect because AI cannot block cards or ignore data.

3. Final Answer:

   The AI chatbot may store or misuse your financial data -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Sharing financial data = risk of misuse [OK]

Hint: Never share credit card info with AI to avoid misuse [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming AI keeps data private automatically
• Believing AI can protect your card instantly
• Thinking AI ignores sensitive info

4. You accidentally shared your social security number with an AI assistant. What should you do to fix this mistake?

medium

A. Change your passwords and monitor your accounts for suspicious activity

B. Trust the AI to keep your data safe without action

C. Share more personal info to confuse the AI

D. Ignore it because AI systems delete data immediately

Solution

1. Step 1: Recognize the risk of sharing sensitive data

   Sharing social security numbers can lead to identity theft or fraud if misused.

2. Step 2: Take protective actions

   Changing passwords and monitoring accounts helps detect and prevent misuse after accidental sharing.

3. Final Answer:

   Change your passwords and monitor your accounts for suspicious activity -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Protective action after data leak = change passwords [OK]

Hint: Act fast: change passwords and watch accounts after leaks [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming AI deletes data instantly
• Sharing more info to fix the problem
• Ignoring potential identity theft risks

5. You want to use an AI service but are unsure about sharing your phone number. What is the best approach to protect your privacy?

hard

A. Share your phone number only if the AI service is from a trusted company with clear privacy policies

B. Always share your phone number to get personalized AI responses

C. Never read privacy policies and share data freely

D. Use your phone number as your AI password for convenience

Solution

1. Step 1: Evaluate trust and privacy policies

   Sharing phone numbers should be limited to trusted services that clearly explain how they protect your data.

2. Step 2: Compare options for privacy protection

   Share your phone number only if the AI service is from a trusted company with clear privacy policies shows caution and informed consent, while others risk privacy or security.

3. Final Answer:

   Share your phone number only if the AI service is from a trusted company with clear privacy policies -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Trust and privacy policies guide safe data sharing [OK]

Hint: Check privacy policies before sharing phone numbers [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Sharing data without checking privacy terms
• Using phone numbers as passwords
• Assuming all AI services are safe