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Can I use personal data in an assistant?

Introduction

Section titled “Introduction”

🎯 Learning goals

  • Understand when and why it is OK to use personal data in an AI assistant
  • Know the three conditions that must be in order before you proceed
  • Understand what counts as personal data — and what makes some data especially sensitive
  • Know who is responsible if something goes wrong

Three conditions

Section titled “Three conditions”

Yes, you can use personal data in an AI assistant at work — in many cases that’s exactly what the assistant is there for. Think about it: you already handle personal data in emails, case management systems, word processors, and spreadsheets every day. AI assistants are no different in principle.

But three things have to be in order:

  1. The assistant has been approved for the type of data you’re handling. Not all assistants in your organization’s Intric environment are set up the same way, and it matters.
  2. Your use is proportionate and purposeful. You only share what the task actually requires, and you use the assistant for the purpose it was configured for.
  3. A human stays accountable. AI can help you work, but you — not the AI — remain responsible for decisions that affect people.

Your organization’s policies come first

Section titled “Your organization’s policies come first”

Your organization’s own policies and guidelines come first. Before anything else in this course, the single most important thing to be aware of is what your organization has decided. Your employer will have — or is developing — internal guidelines that tell you specifically what types of data you are allowed to put into Intric, which assistants are approved for which purposes, and what approvals or steps are required. This course gives you the general framework, but your organization’s policies are the practical rulebook you should follow. If you’re unsure whether those policies exist or where to find them, ask your manager, your IT department, or your data protection officer.

What counts as personal data?

Section titled “What counts as personal data?”

Personal data is any information that can be used to identify a living person — directly or indirectly. This is broader than many people think.

  • Obvious examples: a person’s name, ID number, home address, email address, phone number
  • Less obvious examples: a case number that can be traced back to an individual, a combination of age, municipality, and profession that makes someone identifiable, a photo or voice recording

The amount doesn’t matter. Sharing a single email address counts as processing personal data. So does copying one sentence from a case file that contains a person’s name.

Special category data

Section titled “Special category data”

Some personal data is more sensitive than the rest, and carries stricter rules. This includes:

  • Health and medical information
  • Political opinions
  • Religious or philosophical beliefs
  • Ethnic or racial origin
  • Trade union membership
  • Sexual orientation or gender identity
  • Criminal records and offences
  • Biometric data used to identify people

You can still work with these categories using AI, but the bar for doing so is higher. If your work regularly involves these categories, pay particular attention to the sections on restrictions and when a DPIA is required.

Who is responsible?

Section titled “Who is responsible?”

Your organization is responsible for how personal data is handled in Intric — not you as an individual. Before you use an assistant with personal data, your organization should already have sorted out the legal grounds for doing so, the necessary agreements with Intric, and which assistants are approved for what. That’s the job of your IT department, legal team, or data protection officer. Your job is to use the system as intended and follow the rules they’ve set.

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