8 · Privacy, security, and putting it together

Privacy first. Assume anything you type into a public AI tool may be stored and used to improve the model unless the settings say otherwise. So:

• Never paste secrets: passwords, financial/health records, other people's personal data, confidential work files.
• Strip identifying details when you can; ask in the abstract.
• Check the tool's data settings (history off, "don't train on my data") and your workplace/school policy (NIST Privacy Framework).

Putting it all together, a healthy workflow:

1. Draft with AI: outlines, explanations, first passes, code, brainstorms.
2. Verify with sources: confirm every fact, quote, and citation that matters.
3. Spot fakes: pause on surprising media; check provenance and origin.
4. Stay private and ethical: share no secrets, disclose AI help, keep human judgment in charge.

Do that and AI makes you faster and harder to fool. That's the whole point: use it well, and use it wisely.

Sources

• National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2020). NIST Privacy Framework 1.0. https://www.nist.gov/privacy-framework
• National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2023). AI Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0). https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework