Information Commissioner John Edwards told data protection professionals attending the ICO's annual conference that organisations need regulatory certainty on where they stand on all things AI.
In particular, the public need reassurance that the technology is being designed with their personal information rights in mind, he warned.
“This time last year, no one would have heard of a little thing called ChatGPT,” Edwards said.
“Fast forward a year, and it's the fastest growing app ever. From our work to our social media to what we decide to watch on TV, it’s likely that AI plays a part in all those decisions, often without us realising or noticing."
As a result of that ubiquity, he added, as a whole-economy regulator, it's important the ICO stays ahead of these developments.
As data protection by design and default is one of the key aspects of privacy legislation, he noted, the ICO has produced guidance for organisations working with biometrics and a look-ahead report on emerging technologies and co-badged guidance with the Alan Turing Institute to help organisations explain decisions made by AI to the people affected.
“That's how we can help organisations to help themselves, which is one of our key aims as a regulator. "
