The topic ChatGPT’s new banking feature sounds convenient, but the privacy cost is steep is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
It was only a matter of time, but now OpenAI is asking you to trust ChatGPT with access to your financial records. While the newly revealed feature utilizes a secure platform called Plaid to make the handshake between your bank and the AI, there are a lot of privacy concerns lying in wait beneath the surface.
However, there are some very valid concerns around it. While it uses Plaid, the same system utilized by many other companies, it also means anyone with access to your ChatGPT could potentially learn more about your financial information. Of course, the concern doesn’t end there.
On paper, this idea sounds pretty good, to be honest. Being able to ask ChatGPT how you’re spending your money each month could help with figuring out problems in your monthly budget. However, there is a laundry list of privacy concerns you should be taking into account here. We have talked extensively about the importance of online security and practices you should follow to protect your privacy online, like taking time to learn how to delete your online data. And giving AI almost unfettered access to your financial information is certainly high on the list of things you probably shouldn’t do.
First, there’s the whole factor of giving an AI chatbot unbridled access to your financials. Anything fed to ChatGPT is used to feed and train the model’s unending appetite for new information. And while OpenAI says that the AI can’t see your full account number, or make any changes to your bank accounts, it will still have full access to your balances, transactions, stock portfolio if you have it in the same bank, and any other liabilities you might have such as credit card debt, your mortgage, etc.
OpenAI promises that your data is secure, and that you have full control over it and can disconnect your accounts at any point, as well as delete any chats where you interact with the AI in regard to finances. However, the company can still keep that data for up to 30 days, and once it is used to train the model in anyway, there’s no real way to get it back.
ChatGPT is the flagship AI chatbot from OpenAI, and it’s loaded with features.
Without any solid breakdown of what OpenAI intends to do with this information — other than train its models — determining whether you trust the company enough to keep that data secure is something you’ll have to decide for yourself.