← VCE Data Analysis

Ethical issue: repurposing and sharing of data by AI systems

When an AI system reuses or shares data collected for one purpose, such as training, without the knowledge or consent of the people it came from. Removing it from a trained model is hard.

Part of: VCE Applied Computing - U1O1 - Data analysis — Module 53, VCE Data Analytics - U4O2 - Cyber Security: Data Security — Module 144, ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Privacy Principles and Digital Footprints — Module 58

Understanding Ethical issue: repurposing and sharing of data by AI systems in VCE Data Analysis

What it does: Deleting the stored record does not undo what the trained model has already learned, so removal from the model is difficult. The mismatch between collected_for and used_for shows data being repurposed beyond what the person originally agreed to. Repurposing means using data for a purpose other than the one it was collected for. If people are not told and have not consented, it is an ethical issue. Being open about the purpose and gaining consent respects users' control over their data. Hiding it is a lack of transparency. share_with sends user data to a third party, which is the sharing of data with third parties and can happen without consent.

Common mistakes: The chat should only be added to the training set when the user has consented. Testing for FALSE reuses data from users who said no. It should be IF consent = TRUE THEN. When the user has not agreed to sharing, the ELSE branch must keep the data private. Sending it to a third party anyway shares data without consent. It should be ELSE KEEP data PRIVATE.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 38–54) and word search (Modules 25–54).

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Learning

Duo

A student uploads a photo to a social app to share it with friends. The company later uses the photo to train an AI model without telling users. What is this?

Data repurposing: the data is reused for a different purpose without consentNormal use: data collected for one purpose can always be used for anything

Matches

if consent == 'support': train_ai(chats)

↓

Consent was given for support only. Using the chats to train an AI is a new purpose, so the person must be told and asked for consent again.

Applying

Meanings

Term

Data repurposing

Meaning

When an AI system reuses or shares data collected for one purpose, such as training, without the knowledge or consent of the people it came from. Removing it from a trained model is hard.

Practice

collected_for = "customer support"

Testing

Gaps

IF consent = THEN

Check Answer

Spots

1consent ← user.trainingOK

2IF consent = FALSE THEN

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Quick Questions

1. A student uploads a photo to a social app to share it with friends. The company later uses the photo to train an AI model without telling users. What is this?

A. Normal use: data collected for one purpose can always be used for anything

B. Data repurposing: the data is reused for a different purpose without consent ✓

Repurposing means using data for a purpose other than the one it was collected for. If people are not told and have not consented, it is an ethical issue.

2. Which situation is an example of sharing data with a third party by an AI system?

A. A chatbot company sells user conversations to an advertising company ✓

B. A chatbot shows a user their own conversation history on their own account

A third party is a separate organisation. Passing user data to it, especially without consent, raises an ethical issue about sharing data.

3. True or false: Once a person's data has been used to train an AI model, it is easy to remove just that person's data from the model.

A. False: removing data from a trained model is very difficult ✓

B. True: the data can be deleted from the model with one click

Training blends data into the model's patterns. Deleting the original file does not remove what the model has already learned from it.

4. Which option best describes an ethical way to use user data for AI training?

A. Hide the training use in the terms and conditions so users are unlikely to notice

B. Clearly tell users and get their consent before using their data for training ✓

Being open about the purpose and gaining consent respects users' control over their data. Hiding it is a lack of transparency.

5. Mia deletes her account. Her posts were already used to train an AI. What is the likely problem?

A. Her data may still influence the trained model even though her account is gone ✓

B. The AI instantly forgets everything it learned from her posts

Deleting an account removes stored records, but a trained model may keep the patterns it learned from that data.

Match the Pairs

Policy: chats may be used to train models → Data collected from users for one purpose is reused as AI training data, often without them really knowing

share_with(third_party, user_data) → User data is passed on to another organisation, which the user may not know about or agree to

Once a model is trained, it is hard to remove one person's data from it → delete(user_row) // model still keeps what it learned

Data collected for one purpose is reused for a different purpose such as AI training → collected_for = 'support'; used_for = 'AI training'

if consent == 'support': train_ai(chats) → Consent was given for support only. Using the chats to train an AI is a new purpose, so the person must be told and asked for consent again.

delete(my_row) // so the AI forgets me → Deleting the database record does not remove what a trained model has already learned from the data. Removing it from the model is hard.

Key Term

Data repurposing

When an AI system reuses or shares data collected for one purpose, such as training, without the knowledge or consent of the people it came from. Removing it from a trained model is hard.

Fill in the Blanks

1. IF consent = FALSE THEN DISPLAY "Do not reuse data" END IF

Hint: Type the Boolean value that means the user has not agreed to their data being reused.

2. IF newPurpose != oldPurpose THEN ASK consent END IF

Hint: Type the command word that requests permission from the user before the data is reused for a new purpose.

3. SHARE userData WITH partner LOG "Third party has data"

Hint: Type the command word that sends the data to another organisation.

4. model = TRAIN(userData) DELETE userData OUTPUT "Model kept the data"

Hint: Type the command that builds the AI model from the collected data.

5. IF trained = TRUE THEN OUTPUT "Deleting will not undo it" END IF

Hint: Type the variable that records whether the model has already learned from the data, so deleting the original is not enough.

Spot the Error

Question 1

A consent ← user.trainingOK

B IF consent = FALSE THEN

C ADD chat TO trainingSet

D END IF

Line B — The chat should only be added to the training set when the user has consented. Testing for FALSE reuses data from users who said no. It should be IF consent = TRUE THEN.

Question 2

A IF user.shareOK = TRUE THEN

B SEND data TO partner

C ELSE SEND data TO partner

D END IF

Line C — When the user has not agreed to sharing, the ELSE branch must keep the data private. Sending it to a third party anyway shares data without consent. It should be ELSE KEEP data PRIVATE.

Question 3

A note ← "Chats are not stored"

B SHOW note TO user

C ASK user FOR consent

Line A — The notice is misleading because the chats are used to train the AI. Users cannot give informed consent if they are not told this. It should say the chats train the AI.

Question 4

A DELETE record FROM trainingSet

B // model already learned it

C SET record.inModel ← FALSE

D // slow and costly

Line C — A trained model cannot forget data just by changing a flag, because it has already learned patterns from it. The model must be retrained without the record: RETRAIN model WITHOUT record.

Question 5

A purpose ← "support"

B data ← COLLECT(chatLogs)

C USE data FOR training

Line C — The data was collected for support. Using it for training is repurposing without the users' knowledge or consent. It should be USE data FOR purpose.

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