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Signal President Meredith Whittaker warned Friday thatagentic AIcould come with a endangerment to user privacy .
Speaking onstage at the SXSW group discussion in Austin , Texas , the counselor for unafraid communications referred to the use of AI agents as “ set up your learning ability in a shock , ” and caution that this Modern paradigm of computer science — where AI performs tasks on users ’ behalf — has a “ profound yield ” with both privacy and security .
Whittaker explain how AI agents are being marketed as a mode to add value to your spirit by handling various on-line chore for the user . For instance , AI agent would be able to take on job like front up concert , booking ticket , scheduling the event on your calendar , and messaging your friend that it ’s booked .
“ So we can just put our brain in a jolt because the thing is doing that and we do n’t have to touch it , right ? , ” Whittaker think over .
Then she explained the type of get to the AI agent would require to perform these project , admit access code to our WWW web internet browser and a agency to drive it as well as access to our credit card info to pay for tickets , our calendar , and messaging app to station the text to your friends .
“ It would involve to be able to drive that [ procedure ] across our integral system with something that looks like theme permission , accessing every single one of those database — probably in the open , because there ’s no model to do that encipher , ” Whittaker warned .
“ And if we ’re talking about a sufficiently powerful … AI model that ’s powering that , there ’s no way that ’s happening on machine , ” she continued . “ That ’s almost certainly being sent to a cloud server where it ’s being work and place back . So there ’s a sound issue with security and seclusion that is haunt this hype around agents , and that is ultimately threatening to break the descent - brain roadblock between the program level and the OS layer by hook up with all of these separate service [ and ] muddy their data , ” Whittaker concluded .
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If a messaging app like Signal were to integrate with AI agents , it would undermine the privacy of your subject matter , she enounce . The agent has to get at the app to text your friend and also pull data back to summarize those texts .
With agentic AI , Whittaker admonish we ’d further weaken privacy and security system in the name of a “ witching genie bot that ’s going to take maintenance of the exigencies of living , ” she concluded .
