Gartner Warns AI Inference Will Drive Privacy Risk by 2029

Businesses are rapidly deploying generative AI and machine-learning systems to analyze customer, employee and transaction data, expanding privacy risk beyond conventional data breaches. Gartner said AI can combine information that was lawfully collected to infer sensitive details about a person’s health, finances or identity, creating blind spots for controls designed mainly to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure.

Gartner forecasts that by 2029, most privacy incidents will arise from AI systems inferring sensitive personal information from existing data rather than from direct data leaks. Such inferences may expose personal details, undermine data integrity and evade established detection tools. Experts recommend integrating AI governance into corporate privacy programs and adopting privacy-enhancing technologies, including differential privacy, to limit the risk.