AI Guidelines: HIPAA & FERPA

Read time: 3-5 minutes

Understanding the Rules that Protect Your Data

In our last article, we talked about how AI assistants and chatbots handle the information you give them. Now, let's dive into some important rules that protect your personal information, especially in healthcare and education. These rules are called HIPAA and FERPA. Understanding these rules helps us know how AI can and cannot use certain kinds of data.

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What is HIPAA?

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It’s a law that keeps your health information private and secure. This law makes sure that doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers protect your medical records and other health information.

What is FERPA?

FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. This law protects your educational records. It gives students and parents the right to see and control who sees their school records. Public schools need to follow FERPA to keep students' information private.

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How Do HIPAA and FERPA Affect AI?

When it comes to AI and large language models (LLMs), like chatbots or virtual assistants, HIPAA and FERPA set strict rules about how personal information can be used. Here’s how these laws impact AI:

1. Protecting Health Information: If an AI system is used in healthcare, it must follow HIPAA rules. This means the system can't share your health information without your permission. AI developers must make sure their systems are secure and that any health data is kept private.

2. Protecting School Records: If an AI system is used in public schools, it must follow FERPA rules. This means the system can't share your school records without permission from you or your parents. AI in education must ensure that student information is handled carefully and kept private.

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Why Are These Rules Important?

These rules are important because they protect your privacy. When you share information with a doctor or a school, you trust them to keep it safe. HIPAA and FERPA make sure that trust is maintained, even when using new technologies like AI.

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How Do AI Developers Follow These Rules?

To follow HIPAA and FERPA, AI developers must:

1. Encrypt Data: Encryption makes data unreadable to anyone who isn’t supposed to see it. This keeps your information safe from hackers.

2. Get Permission: Before using your health or school data, AI systems must get permission. This ensures you have control over your information.

3. Anonymize Data: Anonymizing data means removing anything that can identify you personally. This allows AI to learn from data without knowing it’s yours.

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Conclusion

HIPAA and FERPA are important laws that keep our health and school information safe. They make sure that even when using AI, our personal information remains private and secure. Understanding these laws helps us trust and use new technologies safely.