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Audience
All members of the Ithaca College Community
Data Privacy Concerns
Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) chat bots, software, plugins, and other AI tools can create a broad range of useful outputs from the inputs they receive. However, they can also retain and potentially expose sensitive information that is entered.
The Division of Information Technology and Analytics reminds the campus community that entering or allowing personal, confidential, or proprietary information into a Generative AI chat bots, or allowing access by other AI tools, without data protection poses a risk that it will be made available to other parties.
Some examples of sensitive or internal information are:
- Personal Identifiable Information (PII): Full names, addresses, social security numbers
- Student academic information: Grades, evaluations, or any other records that could impact student privacy and academic integrity
- Financial details: Bank accounts, credit card numbers, transaction data
- Health records: Personal medical information, health records
- Login credentials: Usernames, passwords, PIN, security questions
- Confidential academic work: Unpublished research, patents
Data Protection Guidance
If you use Generative AI models for your academic or professional purposes, please follow these data protection best practices:
- If you are a Faculty, Staff, or Student, use Microsoft Copilot with your IC credentials. This enterprise tool provides data protection. For more information, please visit this article: https://help.ithaca.edu/TDClient/34/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=1492
- Use anonymized, synthetic, or dummy data instead of real data when possible.
- Limit Data Sharing by only providing the minimum amount of data necessary for the tool to perform its function.
- For example, remove names and replace with numbers
- Before using, review a tool’s privacy policy and terms of service to understand how your data will be used, stored, and protected. Give preference to tools that delete your data after processing.
- Understand and utilize data usage and retention settings that may be available.
Guidance on Specific Tools
Covered by IC Contracts: These tools have undergone contract review and include specific data protections, ensuring they can be safely used with internal and sensitive college data.
- Microsoft Copilot (when logged in with IC credentials) - Provides AI assistance across Microsoft 365 applications.
- Zoom AI Companion (coming August 2024) - Integrates AI features into Zoom for enhanced meeting productivity.
- Adobe Firefly - Creates images from text prompts, integrated into Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop and Illustrator.
Not covered by IC Contracts: These tools may be useful for some purposes but should not be used with Sensitive or Internal IC data, particularly not with personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), or student education records covered by FERPA. Users must exercise caution and ensure they understand the implications of using these tools.
- OpenAI ChatGPT - A popular AI chatbot that provides conversational AI capabilities.
- Google Gemini - AI tools and models from Google.
- Anthropic Claude - AI chatbot developed by Anthropic.
- Meta Llama - AI models developed by Meta (formerly Facebook).
- Grammarly - Widely used for writing assistance.
- Jasper AI - AI writing tool used for generating content.
- Canva AI Tools - Design platform with AI features.
- Teaching.tools - Educational resources and tools such as lesson planning and activities
Prohibited Tools: Some tools have been reviewed by the college and determined not to meet privacy standards or other college requirements. Their use with IC systems or data is prohibited.
- Otter AI - Transcription and note-taking tool that does not meet the college's privacy standards.
Support
Please submit a ticket with any questions here: https://help.ithaca.edu/TDClient/34/Portal/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=222
Thank you for your help in protecting the data of our community!