Your AI Caricature Is Cute. But Do You Know What You Just Gave Away?

The conversation we need to be having about what we're feeding these models — and what they're keeping.

If your social media feed looks anything like mine right now, it's flooded with AI-generated caricatures. People are uploading their photos, asking AI to turn them into cartoon characters, Pixar-style portraits, anime versions of themselves — and honestly? They look amazing. I did it too. I took a photo I already had out there and let the model create a caricature based on what it knows about me.

It was fun. I'm not going to pretend it wasn't.

But here's the thought that hit me while I was admiring my cute little AI cartoon self: I just gave this model my face. My likeness. My features. And depending on which version I'm using... I may have just handed it permission to train on all of that.

And that thought stopped me in my tracks.

We've Been Here Before

I want to take you back for a moment, and I know this is a heavier comparison, but stay with me because the principle matters.

I'm old enough to remember a time before 9/11 when you could walk your loved ones all the way to the airport gate. When you didn't have to take off your shoes, empty your water bottle, or stand in a full-body scanner just to board a plane. We moved through the world with a level of privacy and freedom that we didn't even think about because we didn't have to.

Then everything changed. And in the name of safety, we willingly gave up liberties and privacy that we never got back. Most of us didn't even question it. We just... adapted.

Now think about social media. There was a time, and some of you remember it, when our entire lives weren't online. When there was still mystery. When you couldn't Google someone and find their hometown, their kids' names, their vacation photos, and their workplace in under 30 seconds.

We went from that... to posting everything. And again, most of us didn't pause to think about what we were giving away. We just enjoyed the connection, the convenience, the fun of it.

I'm not saying any of this is inherently bad. I stay connected with my family through social media. I post content. I'm a public figure, and my photos are already everywhere. I get it.

But I see a pattern here. And with AI, we're at another one of those moments where we need to stop and have a real conversation before we just keep going along with the trend.

The Free Version Isn't Free

Here's what a lot of people don't realize: when you're using the free version of most AI models, there's a good chance your data, including those photos you're uploading, can be used to train the model. That's often part of the deal. You get free access, and they get your data.

Some paid versions offer more protection. Some give you the ability to opt out of training. Some guarantee they won't use your inputs. But "some" and "most" are very different words, and the truth is, most people uploading their selfies for a fun caricature aren't reading the terms of service. They're not checking the privacy settings. They're just having fun.

And I want to be clear having fun is fine. I'm not here to scare anyone or tell you to stop using AI. That would go against everything I teach. But I am here to say: let's be aware of what we're doing while we're doing it.

It's Not Just Photos

This goes beyond the caricature trend. Think about everything we casually drop into AI models every day: business strategies, financial information, client details, proprietary ideas, personal stories, health questions, and family situations.

One of the very first things I teach in my AI foundations training, whether it's to my leadership certification cohort, my interns, or anyone in our community, is this: be intentional about what you put into these models.

You don't want to input your Social Security number, your proprietary business processes, copyrighted content you don't want scraped, or sensitive client information. And you don't need to be paranoid about it — you just need to be conscious.

There's a difference between being afraid of AI and being aware of how AI works. I want you to land firmly on the side of awareness.

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Share

Before you upload that photo, paste that document, or type that personal detail into any AI model, pause and ask yourself:

1. Am I using a free or paid version and do I know how my data will be used?

Free tiers often come with fewer privacy protections. That doesn't mean you can't use them, but it means you should know what you're agreeing to. Check the settings. Read the basics of the data policy. Know whether you can opt out of training.

2. Am I comfortable with this information existing beyond this conversation?

Once you put something into a model, you may not be able to take it back. If you wouldn't be comfortable with that information being stored, analyzed, or used in some way down the road,  maybe don't share it. This goes for your own data AND other people's. Uploading a group photo of your team or your kids' faces carries a different weight than uploading your own.

3. Does this align with how I want to show up as a leader?

This one's personal, but it matters. As leaders, we set the tone for how our teams, our families, and our communities engage with technology. If we're casually throwing everything into AI without a second thought, we're modeling that behavior for everyone around us. Being thoughtful isn't being fearful — it's being responsible.

I'm Not Telling You to Stop. I'm Telling You to Think.

Let me be real: I have nothing to hide. Most of us don't. But having nothing to hide doesn't mean you have nothing to protect.

Your face is yours. Your ideas are yours. Your business strategy is yours. Your clients' trust is yours. And in a world where we've already given away so much, from airport freedoms to social media privacy, maybe this is the moment where we get ahead of the curve instead of looking back ten years from now, wondering why we didn't have this conversation sooner.

I'm not anti-AI. I literally teach people how to use it every single day. I love what these tools can do. But I love them even more when people use them with their eyes wide open.

That's the human touch. That's what keeps us in the driver's seat. And that's the conversation I want us to keep having.

Let's Keep Talking About This

This is exactly the kind of conversation we have inside Get Equipped Academy™, our free community on Skool, where entrepreneurs and leaders learn how to use AI with clarity, confidence, and care. Not just the tools and the prompts, but the real stuff: how to protect yourself, how to think critically, and how to stay human in the middle of all this technology.

We talk about it during monthly office hours. We share updates when policies change. We learn together, so nobody has to figure this out alone.

Because here's what I believe: we're not in a battle between humans versus AI. We're in a battle between those who know how to use AI and those who don't. And "knowing how to use it" includes knowing what to share, what to protect, and when to pause before you hit upload.

Join Get Equipped Academy™ for free on Skool: https://bit.ly/GetEquippedAcademy 

Marline Paul is the Founder & CEO of Enilram Creative Solutions™, an AI Strategist, and the creator of the 3T Framework™. She's on a mission to make sure no entrepreneur gets left behind in the AI era, and that includes making sure they're using AI safely, strategically, and with heart.