EDF Expert: AI creates new threats to personal data

Artificial intelligence is increasingly penetrating everyday life — from movie recommendations to credit decisions. But along with convenience come risks to digital human rights.

In an interview with Youth.kz, Elzhan Kabyshev, Head of Legal Practice at the Eurasian Digital Foundation, warned that personal data is becoming the main resource of the AI era — and thus a target for new threats.

Modern algorithms require massive amounts of information. Users leave digital traces daily — purchases, photos, geolocation, banking operations — which form the basis for training neural networks.

AI can enhance security by detecting fraud, blocking viruses, and preventing cyberattacks. Yet the same technologies are exploited by attackers to create deepfakes, fake websites, and convincing phishing emails.

Kabyshev stressed that the solution lies not in banning technologies but in strengthening user resilience: digital literacy, critical thinking, and systematic awareness of threats. He also highlighted the right to know who collects data and why, as well as the right to appeal algorithmic errors that may block access or distort ratings.

One of the most serious risks is “model inversion,” where training data can be partially reconstructed by malicious queries. Thus, AI both strengthens protection and opens new vulnerabilities, making human oversight and legal safeguards essential.