Safety, Privacy, and Responsible Use of ChatGPT By the end of this lesson, students should be able to: The default posture: semi-public. When you type something into ChatGPT, treat it as you would a note written on a company whiteboard: visible, retained in some form, and potentially reviewed. Not a reason to avoid ChatGPT – a reason to be intentional about what you share. The six categories. Category 1 – Personal identification information. Never paste: Social Security numbers, passport numbers, driver's license numbers, government ID numbers. Category 2 – Financial account details. Never paste: Bank account numbers, credit card numbers, routing numbers, investment account details, PINs. Category 3 – Passwords, credentials, and access tokens. Never paste: Any password, login credential, API key, or security token. No legitimate use case requires sharing a password with an AI assistant. Category 4 – Protected health information. Never paste: Medical records, prescription details, therapy notes, insurance claims, or health information that identifies a specific individual. Category 5 – Confidential business and organizational information. Apply judgment: avoid pasting proprietary product designs, unreleased financial results, strategic plans not yet public, legally privileged communications, or client data not yours to share. Before pasting any work document, ask: would I be comfortable if my organization's legal team could see this in an AI system? Category 6 – Other people's private information without their knowledge. Pasting someone else's personal information – their salary, their medical history, their private communications – without their knowledge raises ethical and potentially legal concerns. Special consideration for ChatGPT file upload and data analysis / file analysis tools. Users with file-upload access can upload files directly – including PDFs, spreadsheets, and documents. The same six categories apply. Before uploading any file for analysis: scan it for sensitive information embedded in places you might overlook, such as Social Security numbers in signature blocks or personal information in footnotes. The anonymization technique. Replace specific identifying details with generic placeholders: Instead of: "My client, [Name] at [Company], signed a $450,000 contract on [date]…" Use: "A client in the [industry] sector signed a contract for approximately $X in [quarter]…" The analytical task almost never requires the identifying details. Anonymize first. Before moving to the quiz, complete this short applied exercise: Instructor check: A strong answer should show practical use, human review, and awareness that ChatGPT output is assistance – not automatic truth or professional advice. question_id: auto-enhancement-what-not-to-share-six-categories-of-information-to-keep-out-of-chatgpt-qjamie001 question_type: short_answer difficulty: applied question: Write one prompt you could use after this lesson, then name one verification or human-review step you would apply before relying on the result. correct_answer: Answers will vary; a strong answer includes a clear task, relevant context, at least one constraint or desired format, and a realistic verification or human-review step based on the stakes of the task. answer_explanation: This applied question checks whether the student can transfer the lesson into real use while maintaining responsible AI habits. Log in and enroll to take this lesson quiz.
Lesson 1: What Not to Share – Six Categories of Information to Keep Out of ChatGPT
Lesson Objectives
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Jamie Practice Lab
Added Quiz Enhancement
Lesson Quiz