Personal data is not raw material
The information that describes our lives belongs to people, not to the systems trained on it.
Modern AI is built on data, and much of that data describes people: what they write, where they go, what they buy, how they speak. It is often treated as a free resource, collected once and reused indefinitely. We believe that view is wrong.
Our position
Personal data is an extension of the person it describes. Using it to build or run AI systems requires a clear purpose, a lawful basis that people can understand, and limits that are respected in practice. Privacy is a right, not a setting.
What this means in practice
- Collect only what a system needs for a stated purpose, and keep it only as long as that purpose requires.
- Do not repurpose personal data to train unrelated models without a fresh, informed basis.
- Give people meaningful ways to see, correct and withdraw their data.
- Treat inferences about people, such as profiles and predictions, with the same care as the data they came from.
Why it matters
When personal data becomes raw material, people become the product. Protecting privacy protects autonomy: the freedom to think, speak and live without being quietly modelled and steered.