What is the primary concern with new AI agents like ChatGPT?

The main concern is that these AI agents require extensive access to your personal data and systems to function fully, posing risks to privacy and cybersecurity.

How do AI assistants from companies like Google and Microsoft threaten privacy?

AI assistants need access to your personal information, such as emails and calendars, for personalization and task completion, which can be a profound threat to your privacy.

Can consumers control how tech companies use their data with AI?

Currently, consumers have very limited ways to verify or control how AI and tech companies handle their sensitive personal data.

Home / Technology / Big Tech's AI Agents Demand More of Your Data

Big Tech's AI Agents Demand More of Your Data

24 Dec, 2025

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Summary

Generative AI agents require system access for full functionality.
AI assistants may pose a profound threat to cybersecurity.
Consumers lack ways to verify how companies handle their data.

Big Tech's AI Agents Demand More of Your Data

Generative AI agents and assistants, evolving beyond simple chatbots, are increasingly designed to perform actions on your behalf. To unlock their full potential, these AI systems necessitate access to your devices and personal data, potentially at the operating system level. This move toward autonomous AI raises profound threats to cybersecurity and individual privacy.

Experts warn that for AI assistants to effectively manage schedules, emails, or browse the web for tasks like booking flights, they require extensive information about you. Products like Microsoft's Recall, which screenshots user desktops, and Tinder's AI feature for analyzing user interests, exemplify the growing access AI systems seek.

Consumers currently have minimal oversight into how technology companies manage their data. Critics highlight that these corporations have demonstrated a lack of respect for privacy, making it difficult to ascertain if data is handled as claimed. The trend suggests a future where AI's utility is tied to deeper data integration, intensifying privacy debates.