Apple, Microsoft, and Google have announced a new era in what they call artificially intelligent computers and smartphones. They claim that the devices will automate tasks such as editing photos and wishing someone a happy birthday.

To make this work, these companies will need more data from you.

Windows computers will now take screenshots of your every move. iPhones can combine information from many apps. Android phones can listen in real time to a call to alert you of a scam.

Are you willing to share this information?

This change has important implications for our privacy. To provide these new services, companies and devices will need to have more intimate, persistent access to our data. In the past, we used apps to access files and photos from our phones and computers in a relatively isolated way. A.I. Security experts say that we need to have a broader view of what we do on apps, websites, and communications in order to connect the dots.

“Do I feel comfortable giving this information to the company?” Cliff Steinhauer said, a director of the National Cybersecurity Alliance (a nonprofit organization focusing on cybersecurity). strategies.

All of this has happened because OpenAI’s ChatGPT reshaped the tech industry two years ago. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others have redesigned their product strategies since then, investing billions of dollars in new services under A.I. They believe this new type computing interface, which constantly monitors what you do to offer assistance, will become indispensable.

Experts say that the biggest security risk is a subtle change in how our new devices operate. Because A.I. It can automate complex tasks, such as removing unwanted objects from photos. However, it can sometimes require more computing power than our smartphones can handle. This means that more of our personal information may need to be handled elsewhere.