16 AI Safety and Privacy

Use This Page When…

Use this page before you put any information into an AI tool, and whenever you are not sure if a task or example is safe. The privacy rules, high-stakes warnings, source-checking routine, and consent rules below also live inside your Personal AI Safety Checklist.md.

16.1 Student Privacy Rules

Do not enter private information into AI tools.

Private information includes:

passwords
bank information
Social Security numbers or national IDs
immigration documents
private medical records
private addresses
school records without approval
employer documents without approval
photos of other people without permission
voice recordings of other people without permission
full names of minors
private family information

Use safe examples instead. Replace real names with names like “Student A” or “my teacher.”

16.2 AI Provider Privacy and Data Settings

An AI provider is the company or group that gives you an AI tool. Different providers have different policies and settings.

Free tools may still collect value from users. A provider may collect data, use interaction data, personalize services, show ads, or improve systems.

Before using an AI tool, check settings when you can:

1. Open Settings.
2. Look for Privacy, Data Controls, or Account Settings.
3. Look for words like:
   - Improve the model
   - Train our models
   - Chat history
   - Data sharing
   - Personalization
4. Turn off sharing for training if the tool allows it.
5. Do not type private information, even after opting out.

If you cannot find a setting, write: I could not find this setting.

Opting out is helpful, but it is not enough. Do not type private information into AI tools.

16.3 High-Stakes Topic Warnings

High-stakes topics can affect health, legal status, money, safety, school, or work.

Examples:

medical decisions
legal problems
immigration
financial contracts
taxes
safety emergencies
mental health crises
school discipline
employment contracts

For these topics, AI may help you:

make a question list
learn vocabulary
organize notes
prepare for a conversation

AI should not be the final authority. Ask a qualified person.

16.4 Safe vs Unsafe AI Use

Situation	Safer Use	Unsafe Use
English practice	Ask for vocabulary practice.	Share private school records.
Job interview	Practice common interview answers.	Upload a private employer document.
Health	Learn words to ask a doctor.	Ask AI to diagnose a serious problem.
Money	Make a simple budget example.	Ask AI to choose a loan or contract for you.
Immigration	Learn vocabulary for an appointment.	Upload immigration papers.
Images	Use ZONI-provided, open-license, or self-created images.	Use a person’s photo without permission.
Audio	Practice your own script.	Clone or imitate another person’s voice.
Privacy settings	Check data controls and opt out where available.	Think opting out makes private sharing safe.

16.5 Source-Checking Routine

Use this routine for important answers:

Ask: What is the source?
Check the source title or link.
Find the sentence that supports the answer.
Use a short quote.
Paraphrase in simple English.
Ask: What is missing?
If the source does not answer, write: I cannot answer from the provided source.

16.7 Using Colab AI Safely

Some Optional Colab Labs use Google’s built-in Colab AI when it is available in the Colab runtime. Follow these rules every time you use a Colab AI cell:

Do not type private information. No real names, addresses, ID numbers, passwords, school records, medical, legal, immigration, financial, or employer documents.
Use safe examples only. Replace real details with safe, public-style content such as Student A, my teacher, the public library, or a community event.
AI may be wrong. Read every AI answer carefully and check it against a real source before you use it.
AI is a helper, not the final author. Save your real work as Markdown in your portfolio folder, not inside the AI tool.
You make the final decision. AI can suggest, compare, and simplify; AI cannot decide for you.
If Colab AI is unavailable, continue with the regular lab steps. The lab will still finish your portfolio task. Successful AI output is never required for portfolio completion.
The labs load a small helper file at start-up. The first cell of every lab loads interactives/e4a_colab.py from this repository’s public GitHub raw URL. You do not need to read this file. If it cannot load (no network, GitHub outage), the cell shows a short friendly message and the rest of the lab still runs — you can finish your portfolio using the regular worksheet steps in this book. There are no API keys and no external AI SDKs. Colab AI is reached only through Google Colab’s built-in helper, and only when it is available.

Available Colab AI models can change over time depending on account, region, runtime, or Colab limits. The lab will pick a working model if one is available.

16.8 Vendor Lock-In Avoidance Guide

Vendor lock-in means your work is stuck inside one tool or platform.

To avoid lock-in:

Save important work outside the AI tool.
Keep prompts reusable.
Use open or common formats.
Avoid private uploads.
Keep a copy of your final files.
Ask: Can I export my work if this tool disappears?
Learn the workflow, not only one brand name.

16.9 Low-Connectivity and No-Account Options

You can complete this course without creating a new AI account.

Watch a teacher demo.
Use a printed or mock privacy settings page.
Use teacher-provided sample AI outputs.
Use public sample documents.
Write prompts on paper.
Transfer final work to digital format later if possible.

16.10 Open Formats Guidance

Good formats for this course:

Type	Recommended Formats
Text	`.md`, `.txt`, `.docx`, `.pdf`
Tables	`.csv`, `.ods`, `.xlsx` if needed
Images	`.png`, `.svg`, `.jpg`
Audio	`.wav`, `.ogg`, `.mp3` if required
Portfolio archive	`.zip`

When possible, save both an editable version and a shareable version.

Final Decision Rule

AI helps. Sources help. Teachers help. The student still makes the final decision for their own work.