What you share with AI

When you give AI a message, notes or a draft, you also give it all the information they contain. Most tasks do not need names, phone numbers or health information. Removing those details first usually lets the task succeed just as well, without leaving the service with information it did not need.

Reduce the material in three steps

1. 1

   Mark identifying and confidential information

   Review the material and mark names, contact details, dates of birth, addresses, health and financial information, and confidential workplace matters such as contract terms.

2. 2

   Replace or remove

   Replace a detail with a general description such as “customer”, “colleague” or “agreed discount”, or remove it if the task does not need it.

3. 3

   Check that the task still works

   Read the reduced material and ask: does AI have what the task requires? If a necessary detail is missing, add it back in a more general form.

Example: a message to a colleague

You want AI to make a fictional message to a colleague clearer. Original message: “Hi, could you look at Mirja Laaksonen’s care plan (born 12 March 1958, 4 A 7 Koivukatu, Tampere)? Her diabetes medication changed last week, and a family member called 040 000 0000.”

• Marked details: name, date of birth, address, phone number and medication information.
• Partly reduced message: “Hi, could you look at the customer’s care plan? The customer’s medication changed last week, and a family member got in touch.”
• Check: the message still contains health information. Removing the name and contact details does not make it ready to share. Do not paste a real care-related message into a general AI service. Use a completely invented, non-health example for this exercise; for actual work, first check that the specific service and use of the material are permitted.

When removing details is not enough

If the task cannot be done without identifying information, do it without AI or use a service where you are allowed to share the material, such as a service approved by your workplace. Checking a service’s settings tells you what happens to the data, but it does not give you permission to share another person’s health or personal information.