There’s so much activity around generative AI! This is a hot topic for us data privacy folks as it presents new challenges for the protection of personal data. Call us sad, but we get very excited about it!

The rapid growth of AI systems producing and processing data, including personal data, means that it’s super important that companies using such systems do so in accordance with their GDPR obligations.

Earlier this month, the UK data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), began a consultation series on generative AI, which analyses how data protection legislation should apply to the development and use of AI. Generative AI is used across industry sectors to create new content, including music, artwork, literature and source code. The first consultation looks into the laws around training generative AI models on personal data that is scraped from the internet. Stephen Almond, Executive Director for Regulatory Risk at the ICO said, “The impact of generative AI can be transformative for society if it’s developed and deployed responsibly. This call for views will help the ICO provide industry with certainty regarding its obligations and safeguard people’s information rights and freedoms.”

The ICO is seeking thoughts from varied stakeholders, including developers and users of generative AI, legal advisors and consultants working in this area, amongst others. The first consultation is open until 1 March 2024. 

Following this, the next consultations will focus on the accuracy of generative AI products. This will be launched in the first six months of 2024.