The alliance between ChatGPT and the healthcare sector raises privacy concerns
OpenAI has sealed agreements with several medical institutions to implement ChatGPT in clinical settings. The goal is to automate how reports are drafted or histories are summarized. However, this technological advancement faces intense scrutiny over how it handles patients' sensitive information. 🤖⚕️
The hidden value of your medical history
Health data holds extraordinary value in the market. For insurers and employers, accessing these details can influence business or hiring decisions, sometimes illegally. When a professional or patient interacts with an AI, the data entered can be used to train broader models. Cybersecurity experts warn that it is possible to reidentify individuals from datasets presented as anonymous, a risk that should not be ignored.
The concrete risks of sharing medical data with AI:- Insurers could use the information to calculate premiums or deny coverage.
- An employer could covertly filter candidates based on previous diagnoses.
- "Anonymized" data can be reversed through cross-analysis techniques.
The information ceases to be under the patient's exclusive control and passes to the servers of a technology corporation.
Reading the fine print of the terms of service
It is essential to review the privacy policies of these tools. When using free versions or certain enterprise solutions, the user usually grants very broad licenses for the company to process the entered data. This includes the right to use that information to refine and improve the AI model. Sharing symptoms, treatments, or specific diagnoses with a public-access AI carries an inherent risk.
What you give up when using an AI in healthcare:- Usage rights over the information you enter in the chat.
- Permission to process your data and feed proprietary algorithms.
- Control over where and how your digital clinical history is stored.
A future where medical data is accessible
This scenario raises an unsettling future. The common question "do you have any medical history?" could be answered by consulting a search engine powered by conversations that the patient themselves had when seeking relief for