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Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Brittany Kaiser: Here's the biggest danger with AI
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Listen and subscribe to Opening Bid Unfiltered on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. With rapid AI innovation comes big dangers β such as unparalleled access of AI agents to our personal data. "I think one of the biggest dangers is that AI has access to all of our most sensitive information, and now people are giving permissions and access for these AI agents to get access to literally everything," AlphaTON Capital CEO Brittany Kaiser said on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast (video above; listen in below). Kaiser is a well-known data rights activist β and the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower who exposed how the political consulting firm harvested personal data from millions of Facebook users to influence elections. She joined Cambridge Analytica in 2015 as director of business development and worked there until January 2018, when she fled to Thailand and began exposing the company's practices to the UK Parliament, the Mueller investigation, and the public. Since then, Kaiser has written a memoir and become the subject of The Great Hack, an Emmy-nominated Netflix (NFLX) documentary. "They're [AI CEOs] not saying that their products are safe, but they're not giving real teeth to their head of AI safety," Kaiser added. "So I don't think there's any CEO of an AI company that says what they're doing is fully safe. I think they are actually quite transparent about the huge risks and dangers, but they're not doing much about that." The risks to companies and their consumers are beginning to pile up due to the proliferation of AI. Nearly 72% of S&P 500 (^GSPC) companies now call out AI as a material risk in their public disclosures, according to a recent survey from the Conference Board. That's up sharply from just 12% in 2023. Reputational risk tops the list, mentioned by 38% of companies. Companies warn that failed AI projects, mistakes in consumer-facing tools, or breakdowns in customer service could rapidly erode brand trust. Cybersecurity risks follow, according to 20% of firms surveyed. "We're seeing a clear theme emerging across disclosures: Companies are worried about AI's impact on reputation, security, and compliance," said Andrew Jones, author of the report and principal researcher at the Conference Board. "The task for business leaders is to integrate AI into governance with the same rigor as finance and operations, while communicating clearly to maintain stakeholder confidence." Each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid Unfiltered. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service. Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance