Happy Friday Reader!

Last week I caught myself doing something that would have made my privacy-conscious German self from five years ago cringe—I asked ChatGPT to analyze my entire LinkedIn profile, name and all, without a second thought.

And I ended up opening a can of worms…

Every privacy guide starts with, “DO NOT share personal data like names with AI!”

Oops, too late, I thought.

Growing up in Germany, where data privacy is as sacred as punctuality and order, I’ve lost count of the days I’ve spent shredding every piece of paper with personal information like a top-secret spy document. And I bet plenty of people still do—we’re practically born with a shredder in hand in the land of bureaucracy and endless paperwork!

From “Miss Fear” to California’s “Who Cares” Digital Openness

Here I was now, cheerfully feeding an AI system my private data and professional history. It wasn’t until I found myself sharing details about my perimenopause symptoms and Oura ring data with my custom-built GPT AI health coach that reality hit me. I had swung from German privacy caution to California-style digital openness.

Like many, I began my AI journey with careful hesitation and analysis. But living in California for over 12 years, I have adopted the power of “learning by doing” while making mistakes.

Strange, what happened to me?” I mumbled as my 80-year-old mother’s finger shot up on FaceTime. “See? I told you, Simone—AI is a thief of our data!”

The transformation happened gradually and silently.

At first, I only used ChatGPT for basic business writing.

Then came the LinkedIn profile analysis.

Before I knew it, I had deep conversations with AI about my life and health goals, sharing details I wouldn’t even trust to my old kids diary (lock and tiny lost key included!).

Okay, to be fair to my AI buddy, my productivity and creativity skyrocketed in the last months—15 videos for my masterclass in one day!

Email templates, automated responses, a podcast script in less than 2 minutes—you got it.

To my excuse, I was in the honeymoon phase with my AI buddy for a long time, excited about every new possibility.

“Holy moly, I can do that with just a click of a button!” became my regular reaction to discovering new AI features.

AI wasn’t just helping my business fly but became my solution as a busy mom and entrepreneur who always felt like Alice in Wonderland’s time-pressed rabbit saying: “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date.”

But suddenly, I started to pump the brakes a few days ago.

A New Approach: Privacy with Play

I realized that I had shifted from German fear to sharing more and more personal information without much thought, sometimes even forgetting that I talked to an algorithm, not a human.

Of course, the basics are obvious: no social security numbers, financials, or client data.

But what about all those personal stories and details I'm feeding everyday into various AI tools and training “Simone’s GPT doppelgaenger”?

I decided I needed a new approach, which I call “Privacy with Play”:

Keep the experimental spirit alive, but add thoughtful boundaries:

1. Instead of sharing, for example, specific details about my children’s school, I now say, “My child attends a progressive school in California.” Pseudonyms and generalizations are now my new prompt-privacy hacks.
2. Rather than inputting exact health data, I describe symptoms and patterns generally, removing all my personal information.

Embrace innovation while maintaining privacy:

1. I ask myself: “Would I be comfortable seeing this information anonymously on a billboard?” before sharing it with AI.
2. I’ve turned off ChatGPT’s data training option, a small step that gives me more control over my digital footprint (though if we all do that, what will happen to the data quality? - another can of worms...)
3. Before I use a new AI tool, I check the data privacy policy. In order to make a dry document more fun to read, I turn it into a podcast with NotebookLM.

Finding the Sweet Spot: Privacy and Play Together

Alright, time to close this can of worms for my busy readers:

Using AI effectively is about more than choosing between privacy and innovation. It’s about finding that sweet spot where both can coexist—German thoroughness with a Silicon Valley mindset of play.

What about you?

How do you balance privacy concerns with the exciting possibilities of AI?

I’d love to hear your stories and hacks of finding your sweet spot in this crazy exciting digital world.

❤️ from Venice Beach

Simone

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