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Like it or not, artificial intelligence has become part of daily life. Many devicesincluding electric razors and toothbrusheshave become AI-powered, using machine learning algorithms to track how a person uses the device, how the device is working in real time, and provide feedback. From asking questions to an AI assistant like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot to monitoring a daily fitness routine with a smartwatch, many people use an AI system or tool every day. While AI tools and technologies can make life easier, they also raise important questions about data privacy. These systems often collect large amounts of data, sometimes without people even realizing their data is being collected. The information can then be used to identify personal habits and preferences, and even predict future behaviors by drawing inferences from the aggregated data. As an assistant professor of cybersecurity at West Virginia University, I study how emerging technologies and various types of AI systems manage personal data and how we can build more secure, privacy-preserving systems for the future. Generative AI software uses large amounts of training data to create new content such as text or images. Predictive AI uses data to forecast outcomes based on past behavior, such as how likely you are to hit your daily step goal, or what movies you may want to watch. Both types can be used to gather information about you. How AI tools collect data Generative AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini collect all the information users type into a chat box. Every question, response and prompt that users enter is recorded, stored, and analyzed to improve the AI model. OpenAIs privacy policy informs users that we may use content you provide us to improve our Services, for example to train the models that power ChatGPT. Even though OpenAI allows you to opt out of content use for model training, it still collects and retains your personal data. Although some companies promise that they anonymize this data, meaning they store it without naming the person who provided it, there is always a risk of data being reidentified. Predictive AI Beyond generative AI assistants, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok continuously gather data on their users to train predictive AI models. Every post, photo, video, like, share, and comment, including the amount of time people spend looking at each of these, is collected as data points that are used to build digital data profiles for each person who uses the service. The profiles can be used to refine the social media platforms AI recommender systems. They can also be sold to data brokers, who sell a persons data to other companies to, for instance, help develop targeted advertisements that align with that persons interests. Many social media companies also track users across websites and applications by putting cookies and embedded tracking pixels on their computers. Cookies are small files that store information about who you are and what you clicked on while browsing a website. One of the most common uses of cookies is in digital shopping carts: When you place an item in your cart, leave the website and return later, the item will still be in your cart because the cookie stored that information. Tracking pixels are invisible images or snippets of code embedded in websites that notify companies of your activity when you visit their page. This helps them track your behavior across the internet. This is why users often see or hear advertisements that are related to their browsing and shopping habits on many of the unrelated websites they browse, and even when they are using different devices, including computers, phones, and smart speakers. One study found that some websites can store over 300 tracking cookies on your computer or mobile phone. Data privacy controlsand limitations Like generative AI platforms, social media platforms offer privacy settings and opt-outs, but these give people limited control over how their personal data is aggregated and monetized. As media theorist Douglas Rushkoff argued in 2011, if the service is free, you are the product. Many tools that include AI dont require a person to take any direct action for the tool to collect data about that person. Smart devices such as home speakers, fitness trackers, and watches continually gather information through biometric sensors, voice recognition, and location tracking. Smart home speakers continually listen for the command to activate or wake up the device. As the device is listening for this word, it picks up all the conversations happening around it, even though it does not seem to be active. Some companies claim that voice data is only stored when the wake wordwhat you say to wake up the deviceis detected. However, people have raised concerns about accidental recordings, especially because these devices are often connected to cloud services, which allow voice data to be stored, synced, and shared across multiple devices such as your phone, smart speaker and tablet. If the company allows, its also possible for this data to be accessed by third parties, such as advertisers, data analytic firms, or a law enforcement agency with a warrant. Privacy rollbacks This potential for third-party access also applies to smartwatches and fitness trackers, which monitor health metrics and user activity patterns. Companies that produce wearable fitness devices are not considered covered entities and so are not bound by the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). This means that they are legally allowed to sell health- and location-related data collected from their users. Concerns about HIPAA data arose in 2018, when Strava, a fitness company released a global heat map of users exercise routes. In doing so, it accidentally revealed sensitive military locations across the globe through highlighting the exercise routes of military personnel. The Trump administration has tapped Palantir, a company that specializes in using AI for data analytics, to collate and analyze data about Americans. Meanwhile, Palantir has announced a partnership with a company that runs self-checkout systems. Such partnerships can expand corporate and government reach into everyday consumer behavior. This one could be used to create detailed personal profiles on Americans by linking their consumer habits with other personal data. This raises concerns about increased surveillance and loss of anonymity. It could allow citizens to be tracked and analyzed across multiple aspects of their lives without their knowledge or consent. Some smart device companies are also rolling back privacy protections instead of strengthening them. Amazon recently announced that starting on March 28, all voice recordings from Amazon Echo devices would be sent to Amazons cloud by default, and users will no longer have the option to turn this function off. This is different from previous settings, which allowed users to limit private data collection. Changes like these raise concerns about how much control consumers have over their own data when using smart devices. Many privacy experts consider cloud storage of voice recordings a form of data collection, especially when used to improve algorithms or build user profiles, which has implications for data privacy laws designed to protect online privacy. Implications for data privacy All of this brings up serious privacy concerns for people and governments on how AI tools collect, store, use, and transmit data. The biggest concern is transparency. People dont know what data is being collected, how the data is being used, and who has access to that data. Companies tend to use complicated privacy policies filled with technical jargon to make it difficult for people to understand the terms of a service that they agree to. People also tend not to read terms of service documents. One study found that people averaged 73 seconds reading a terms of service document that had an average read time of 29 to 32 minutes. Data collected by AI tools may initially reside with a company that you trust, but can easily be sold and given to a company that you dont trust. AI tools, the companies in charge of them and the companies that have access to the data they collect can also be subject to cyberattacks and data breaches that can reveal sensitive personal information. These attacks can by carried out by cybercriminals who are in it for the money, or by so-called advanced persistent threats, which are typically nation or state-sponsored attackers who gain access to networks and systems and remain there undetected, collecting information and personal data to eventually cause disruption or harm. While laws and regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act aim to safeguard user data, AI development and use have often outpaced the legislative process. The laws are still catching up on AI and data privacy. For now, you should assume any AI-powered device or platform is collecting data on your inputs, behaviors, and patterns. Using AI tools Although AI tools collect peoples data, and the way this accumulation of data affects peoples data privacy is concerning, the tools can also be useful. AI-powered applications can streamline workflows, automate repetitive tasks and provide valuable insights. But its crucial to approach these tools with awareness and caution. When using a generative AI platform that gives you answers to questions you type in a prompt, dont include any personally identifiable information, including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, or home addresses. At the workplace, dont include trade secrets or classified information. In general, dont put anything into a prompt that you wouldnt feel comfortable revealing to the public or seeing on a billboard. Remember, once you hit enter on the prompt, youve lost control of that information. Remember that devices which are turned on are always listeningeven if theyre asleep. If you use smart home or embedded devices, turn them off when you need to have a private conversation. A device thats asleep looks inactive, but it is still powered on and listening for a wake word or signal. Unplugging a device or removing its batteries is a good way of making sure the device is truly off. Finally, be aware of the terms of service and data collection policies of the devices and platforms that you are using. You might be surprised by what youve already agreed to. This article is part of a series on data privacy that explores who collects your data, what and how they collect, who sells and buys your data, what they all do with it, and what you can do about it. Christopher Ramezan is an assistant professor of cybersecurity at West Virginia University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Eli Lilly announced on Monday it will soon make the two highest-doses of its popular weight-loss drug Zepbound available for self-paying customers on its website. Starting in August, 12.5-milligram and 15-milligram single doses will be added to the company’s website, effectively making all Zepbound doses available for $499 a month or less. Unlike the pen form sold at pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS, the drug will be available in vial form through its LillyDirect self-pay pharmacy, which will require patients to draw their own shots into a syringe rather than have them prefilled. The drug will be available to eligible adults with obesity and a valid prescription regardless of insurance coverage. Health care providers and doctors can start prescribing the higher doses on July 7, according to Lilly. Zepbound is an injectable prescription medicine belonging to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists that were originally developed for type 2 diabetes, and they may also help to treat adults with obesity and weight-related medical issues. “Obesity is a serious, chronic disease, and access to obesity medications should be treated with the same urgency as other chronic conditions,” said Rhonda Pacheco, group vice president of U.S. Cardiometabolic Health at Lilly, in the press release. “Lilly was the first company to offer a self-pay solution for an FDA-approved obesity medication, and we continue to work to expand coverage for Zepbound. In the meantime, the availability of the two highest-dose Zepbound vials gives providers and patients another important treatment option.” While the weight-loss drugs are popular with consumers, they’re not so much with insurance companies, who don’t always widely cover the drugs. This led Lily, and rival Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy, to start offering their own self-pay options. The company first rolled out its self-pay, single-dose vials last summer in an effort to meet high consumer demand. Shares in Lilly (NYSE: LLY) were trading down by less than 2% at the market’s close on Monday. Eli Lily: By the numbers In Eli Lily’s latest round of earnings for the first quarter of 2025, which ended March 31, the company showed a mixed performance and reported a net income of $2.76 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $3.34, with revenue guidance between $58 billion and $61 billion. The drugmaker has a market capitalization of $724.99 billion, as of this writing. The company is slated to report Q2 earnings in early August.
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E-Commerce
At Home, the big-box home decor and furnishings brand, is the most recent in a series of home goods stores, including Big Lots and True Value, to file for bankruptcy in recent months. Today, the company announced that it is seeking Chapter 11 protection after tariff-related costs, inflation, and reduced foot traffic have taken a bite out of sales. The company, which is owned by Hellman & Friedman and operates 260 stores across the U.S., has entered an agreement with its lenders thats intended to help eliminate the companys $2 billion in debt while providing $200 million in new funding to keep the brand afloat during the restructuring process. CEO Brad Weston said in a press release that At Home is operating against a rapidly evolving trade environment as we navigate the impact of tariffs and that the changes are intended to help the company compete in a more volatile marketplace. At Homes financial woes come on the back of closures for several similar brands. In 2024, the discount retailer Big Lots also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and planned to close all of its 800 locations before it was ultimately purchased and kept afloat by a new owner (though at a much smaller scale). And this May, the beloved arts-and-crafts retailer Joanns closed its doors permanently after a drawn-out bankruptcy process. Now, At Home will be the latest home goods retailer to attempt to keep its doors open as it navigates the bankruptcy process. 26 stores expected to close Currently, At Home employs over 7,000 workers across 40 states. According to a bankruptcy court filing, the brand has struggled over the past several years due to reduced foot traffic in stores, heightened competition from comparable and off-price retailers offering substantial discounts, and a disparity between inventory and customer demand. Over the last year, At Home has already closed six stores, but it reports that several remaining stores are still operating at suboptimal performance levels. To turn things around, At Home reported that it will begin by transitioning ownership of the company to its lenders, who are shouldering more than 95% of its debt. The restructuring is also expected to result in several store closures. Per the filing: Ultimately, the Debtors management team and advisors determined that it is appropriate to commence closings of 26 underperforming brick-and-mortar stores, with the potential to close additional underperforming stores in the future. The 26 stores are expected to be sold and vacated by September 30, 2025. Here are the stores that are expected to close: 750 Newhall Dr., San Jose, CA 2505 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 2200 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 3795 E Foothills Blvd., Pasadena, CA 1982 E 20th St., Chico, CA 26532 Towne Center Dr., Suites A-B, Foothill Ranch, CA 2900 N. Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 8320 Delta Shores Circle S., Sacramento, CA 14585 Biscayne Blvd., North Miami, FL 5203 W. War Memorial Dr., Peoria, IL 13180 S. Cicero Ave., Crestwood, IL 300 Providence Highway, Dedham, MA 571 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury, MA 2820 Hwy. 63, South Rochester, MN 905 S 24th St. W., Billings, MT 1361 NJ-35, Middletown Township, NJ 461 Route 10, East Ledgewood, NJ 301 Nassau Park Blvd., Princeton, NJ 6135 Junction Blvd., Rego Park, NY 300 Baychester Ave., Bronx, NY 720 Clairton Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 8300 Sudley Rd., Manassas, VA 19460 Compass Creek Pkwy., Leesburg, VA 1001 E Sunset Dr., Bellingham, WA 2530 Rudkin Rd., Yakima, WA 3201 North Mayfair Rd., Wauwatosa, WI
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