Privacy and Security When Using Generative Artificial Intelligence

As many of you explore the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) for your teaching, scholarship, and personal lives, please note that while GAI is a powerful tool, it’s essential to be mindful of data security and privacy. Many AI systems rely on vast amounts of data for training, which can include personal information. AI platforms may access and process information you input, especially the free versions of the many available products. It is important to avoid sharing sensitive data such as the following:  

• Personally identifiable information (PII): Student names, social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.  

• Confidential institutional data: Proprietary information, research data, financial records, intellectual property, etc.  

• Sensitive student information: Grades, attendance records, disciplinary actions, medical information, etc.  

Before you use any GAI tool you should take time to review its relevant privacy policies. Because of Furman’s enterprise site license with Microsoft, using Microsoft Copilot comes with security protections. Anyone who signs into Copilot with their @furman.edu account (via free and paid accounts) gets commercial data protection while using the tool, which is not the case with any other free GAI tool. This means that, even in the free version, prompts and responses you input into Copilot are not saved or used to train AI models and chat prompt traffic is encrypted. Using Copilot with your furman.edu account helps mitigate concerns about privacy and data security. You can confirm that commercial data protection is active within Copilot by the presence of a green shield icon in the upper right-hand corner of the Copilot page. Please contact ITS (864-294-3277 or service.center@furman) for assistance with CoPilot or for more information about paid CoPilot licensing.  

To learn more about getting started with GAI, consider attending the Furman ITS training on Generative Artificial Intelligence on Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. (register here). The FDC also maintains a list of ongoing GAI learning opportunities you might consider.