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However, experts have started to warn people about the privacy and scam risks associated with the trend brought upon by media uploads to these AI tools, especially the lesser-known ones. In addition to users being at risk of getting their personal pictures stolen, they could also invite face-swapping and related scams. Banaras-based ethical hacker Mrityunjay Singh talked about cybersecurity concerns associated with the trend and the implications of uploading your personal pictures to AI chatbots.

Following the launch of ChatGPT's, the internet witnessed a viral Ghibli trend where users couldn't get enough of transforming their pictures into Hayao Miyazaki's signature anime art style produced by Ghibli Studio. Elon Musk-owned xAI also allowed people to transform their pictures into Ghibli style via its most powerful Grok-3 chatbot. The trend caused almost everyone from politicians and actors to common people to share restyled pictures of themselves, their partners, friends, and families on social media platforms.

During the conversation, Mrityunjay emphasised that underestimating AI technology can lead to significant issues for anyone. Sharing your photos on any AI platform or granting access to AI applications on your phone could result not only in data theft but also in the misuse of your personal information. He advised users to think carefully before allowing any application access to their phones, as it could pose serious risks.

Some skeptics speculate that the Ghibli AI trend's popularity may not have been entirely organic. A theory suggests that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman might have engaged celebrities and influencers to share their AI-generated portraits first, sparking widespread FOMO (fear of missing out) and driving mass user adoption. This strategy could potentially have enabled the company to gather extensive facial data quickly. Critics like Mrityunjay are among those questioning the authenticity of the trend's viral nature. The ethical hacker believes that the trend helped AI companies get free access to thousands of pictures to train their systems.

The dangers of sharing your pictures with AI tools:

The safety of uploading personal photos to AI tools remains uncertain, as OpenAI and xAI provide limited transparency regarding data handling. When asked about data privacy regarding media upload to AI tools, ChatGPT advised users to avoid sharing sensitive images unless privacy policies are clear, while maintaining that OpenAI does not retain or use uploaded images beyond the session. In contrast, Grok 3 suggested that uploaded data may be stored on servers and potentially used to train models unless users actively opt out via platform settings.

Cyber expert Mrityunjay warns of the risks associated with AI companies misusing facial data, which could lead to face swapping, fraud, and identity theft. He mentions past incidents that have included unauthorised data extraction from social media and news websites, as well as the sale of images for activities like creating fake documents. He also cautions against data leaks in the case of a cyber attack on the AI company collecting user pictures.

Mrityunjay also asks users to avoid giving access to unknown apps to their photo gallery, as it allows fraudulent applications to get access to not only your personal images but also confidential documents and photo ID cards.

"Read and think several times before giving access to any application because as soon as it gets access to your phone gallery, it can misuse the data to commit cyber fraud if it wants," Mrityunjay says, emphasising the possibility of apps facilitating forged documents.

How to stay safe:

The cyber expert emphasised that by taking certain precautions, users can save themselves from frauds. Here are some important tips to keep in mind:

Avoid participating in dubious AI-related activities and refrain from uploading your photos unnecessarily.

Be cautious when sharing photos on social media, especially those that clearly show your face.

Opt for a strong password and PIN over face unlock for added security.

Refrain from downloading unknown apps on your phone. Additionally, always review and understand the privacy policy of any app before granting access to your camera or gallery.

If you encounter such an incident, don’t panic. Contact the police immediately to address and resolve the issue.

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