Sydney, Australia – October 29, 2024 – The Australian privacy watchdog has made a groundbreaking decision to start regulating the use of artificial intelligence by coming up with in-depth policies and guidelines that will change the way companies process personal data within various AI systems. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) issued two strategic guides that are aimed at the making of commercial AI products and designing of generative AI models.
The guidance outlines a first for Australia’s privacy regime, that no organization should use any personal data to develop or train AI applications without the prior affirmative ‘opt-in’ consent of the data subject.
“Where there is doubt about the application of the Privacy Act to AI activities, developers and users should err on the side of caution and assume it applies,” states the OAIC in its guidance.
The new system is clear in its prohibition of providing any personal data to external generative AI applications, including free ones as it carries “so many complex privacy issues and risks.” Organizations are now required to carefully reason how AI uses data in its policies and make provision for rigid management of personal data collection and processing.
These provisions come at the time when there are also rising issues of concern regarding the effects of AI systems on a person’s privacy. In particular, the OAIC states that privacy principles apply also to the inputs into the AI and any outputs, which include personal information generated by the AI or otherwise inferred. The guidance states that organizations should carry out a privacy impact assessment prior to implementing AI systems and implement ‘privacy by design’ principles.
The new requirements are in line with the recently published draft amendments to the Privacy Act demonstrating Australia’s commitment to safeguarding individual privacy from the risks posed by the advent of artificial intelligence. Such amendments have to be adopted by Organizations in an urgent manner with extra care in relation to the handling and accuracy of sensitive data in AI applications.
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