<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A new </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/artificial-intelligence" rel="" target="" title="artificial intelligence"><span>artificial intelligence</span></a><span> trend is rocketing onto social media feeds around the world – and it could pose a risk to your personal data.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Millions of people are prompting </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/chatgpt" rel="" target="_blank" title="ChatGPT"><span>ChatGPT</span></a><span> to design a caricature of themselves using what it knows about their personality and career.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The result can be fun and whimsical, and sometimes a little uncanny.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/romance-scam-ai-intimacy-romance-scams-more-sophisticated-than-ever-technology-news/3136643f-ebd1-40cf-bd5a-f29887f33bbc" target="_blank"><strong><span>Sophisticated 'deepfake' AI is making romance scams more sophisticated than ever</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But AI and cyber experts are asking the same question: Is it harmless fun or facilitating a mass privacy crisis?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Digital sociologist and senior lecturer at Australian National University (ANU) Jessamy Perriam told </span><a href="https://www.nine.com.au/?rf=true" rel="" target="" title="nine.com.au"><span>nine.com.au</span></a><span> the trend is "fun but eerie at the same time".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's more about how much do you want ChatGPT to know about you?" Perriam said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/chatgpt-caricature-trend-ai-privacy-concerns-cyber-experts-opinion/84a56b13-bd26-420a-8298-3b6c6f65b0af" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You're not really entirely certain whether what you've disclosed to ChatGPT will just be kind of siloed away to just you, or whether it will use it in other scenarios."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Perriam said she was surprised to see the trend take off when there is a cultural shift against the pervasiveness of "AI slop" on social media.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Consumers have pushed back against brands or celebrities using AI in their content.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/naomi-and-dan-not-so-grey-nomads-sold-house-in-sydney-to-live-on-road-with-three-kids/fa2ec527-99b7-4e6b-a161-d22627066385" rel="" target="_blank" title="Sydney couple sold house, quit their jobs after feeling 'trapped' in rat race"><strong><span>Sydney couple sold house, quit their jobs after feeling 'trapped' in rat race</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/garydrenik/2025/01/14/55-of-audiences-are-uncomfortable-with-ai-are-brands-listening/" rel="" target="_blank" title="A 2025 Neilson survey found 55 per cent of audiences"><span>A 2025 Neilson survey found 55 per cent of audiences</span></a><span> are "uncomfortable" with the use of AI in media.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Perriam urged people to use this critical lens for their own AI use and to be wary about what details they willingly feed ChatGPT.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Ask yourself, is this something that I want to participate in, is it something that provides me value and enrichment in my life?" she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It calls for this need for people to be really informed about what AI is about, because it's a pretty fuzzy term at the best of times.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I would be careful about where and who you disclose personal information to online, regardless of whether it's ChatGPT or not."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trademark and AI lawyer Jessica Eaves Mathews </span><a href="https://jessicaeavesmathews.substack.com/p/the-chatgpt-caricature-trend-might" rel="" target="_blank" title="argued in her Substack"><span>argued in her Substack</span></a><span> that the caricature trend was feeding an insatiable big-tech machine.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She warned that users were freely providing the tools to allow institutions to construct a "profile" on them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's easy to see the appeal. It's creative. It's flattering. It feels like self-expression. It's shareable," Eaves Mathews wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is why I don't think the real question is whether these AI caricatures are cool or cringe.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The real question is whether we still have the awareness and self-discipline to resist trends that actually harm us and strengthen big tech's hold on all of us, including our institutions, government and rule of law."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ai-at-work-policy-termination-exclusive-poll/428a1505-b2e9-45e8-918d-14cdbe630b8a" rel="" target="" title="Thousands of Aussies could be risking their jobs with this AI policy blunder"><strong><span>Thousands of Aussies could be risking their jobs with this AI policy blunder</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Eaves Mathews said users were giving up intimate details of themselves to a company which was "collecting, processing, and leveraging data at enormous scale".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is why it's reckless to treat ChatGPT like a diary, a confessional, or a personality mirror," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is not your friend. It is not a therapist. It is not a private sketchbook."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Every ChatGPT caricature requires a certain amount of electricity, too.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/12/01/1084189/making-an-image-with-generative-ai-uses-as-much-energy-as-charging-your-phone/" rel="" target="" title="According to the MIT Technology Review"><span>According to the MIT Technology Review</span></a><span>, generating an image using AI can take the same amount of energy as fully charging a phone.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Perriam said the environmental cost tends to be the forgotten consequence of mass AI trends.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If everyone's generating cutesy caricatures of themselves, it uses a lot of electricity, a lot of data centre energy, and a lot of water to do all of this," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's really environmentally dicey to, a) establish these trends and then, b) have everyone just jump on the bandwagon."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>