Should your Company ban Generative AI?

Just this week, Samsung banned the use of Generative AI after it was found that 3 employees leaked internal source code to ChatGPT. It’s obvious that Samsung isn’t the only company sending data to OpenAI, but how can others govern the use of AI tools without banning them? At Codeium, we take these concerns very seriously and we want to make sure you have the knowledge for your AI strategy.

Generative AI, a subfield of artificial intelligence, involves the creation of algorithms and models that generate data outputs such as text, images, or audio. These systems, like OpenAI's GPT4, learn from vast amounts of data and can produce content that is often indistinguishable from human-generated work. Despite the incredible potential of generative AI, its reliance on large-scale data collection and processing has raised significant privacy and data leakage concerns.

Why would someone ban Generative AI?

To train generative AI models effectively, they require massive amounts of data, which often include sensitive information such as personal details, source code, or proprietary business data. Companies are increasingly concerned that this data could be mishandled, resulting in unauthorized access or breaches that compromise individual privacy or corporate confidentiality.?

It is a major risk for an employee to send intellectual property data to ChatGPT and Copilot, as there is a risk that generative AI models may inadvertently expose sensitive information when generating content, or in general that another third party is now storing your secrets elsewhere. For example, AI-generated text could unintentionally reveal company secrets or plans to other users, or expose code that has been licensed or belongs to a major corporation, leading to potential legal or even business ramifications.

The Cost of Banning Generative AI

While banning generative AI may alleviate privacy and data leakage concerns, it also comes with its own set of consequences. Companies that choose to ban generative AI may miss out on the potential benefits this technology offers, such as increased efficiency, cost savings, and the ability to remain competitive in an increasingly AI-driven world. It is actually those that do not use Generative AI that may fall behind those that are rapidly deploying their AI strategy within their day to day operations.?

What can you do?

For companies that are wary of embracing generative AI due to privacy and data leakage concerns, finding the right balance between risk mitigation and harnessing the power of AI is crucial. Some potential strategies include:

1. Think about where the company derives the most value from Generative AI, and seek out applications that follow guidelines from your security policies

2. Investing in advanced security measures to protect sensitive information from being sent out of your company

3. Utilize AI solutions that restrict company data from being sent to the wrong parties

Here at Codeium, we take these concerns very seriously. That’s why our Enterprise solutions keep your data within your company, via self-hosting and private cloud instances. We know the value generative AI brings to society, but it’s important that you make sure your employees and company policies reflect this.?