# Rethinking Data Protection in the (Generative) Artificial Intelligence Era

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.03034 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.03034/

## Key facts

- Cited by 18 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 65 of its 138 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 3 Jul 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 65)

- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [GPT-4 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08774/) (2023)
- [Distilling the Knowledge in a Neural Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.02531/) (2015)
- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
- [Communication-Efficient Learning of Deep Networks from Decentralized Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.05629/) (2016)
- [DeepSeek-R1: Incentivizing Reasoning Capability in LLMs via Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.12948/) (2025)
- [Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning for Fast Adaptation of Deep Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.03400/) (2017)
- [Deep Learning with Differential Privacy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1607.00133/) (2016)
- [Membership Inference Attacks against Machine Learning Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.05820/) (2016)
- [Extracting Training Data from Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.07805/) (2020)
- [PaLM-E: An Embodied Multimodal Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.03378/) (2023)
- [A Survey on Bias and Fairness in Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.09635/) (2019)
- [Knowledge Distillation: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.05525/) (2020)
- [Machine Unlearning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.03817/) (2019)
- [Diffusion Models in Vision: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.04747/) (2022)
- [Certified Data Removal from Machine Learning Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.03030/) (2019)
- [A Survey on RAG Meeting LLMs: Towards Retrieval-Augmented Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06211/) (2024)
- [Backdoor Learning: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.08745/) (2020)
- [Towards Generalist Biomedical AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.14334/) (2023)
- [Distributed learning of deep neural network over multiple agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.06060/) (2018)
- [Glaze: Protecting Artists from Style Mimicry by Text-to-Image Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04222/) (2023)
- [Unlearnable Examples: Making Personal Data Unexploitable](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.04898/) (2021)
- [RADAR: Robust AI-Text Detection via Adversarial Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.03838/) (2023)
- [A Survey of Privacy Attacks in Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.07646/) (2020)
- [A Survey of Controllable Text Generation using Transformer-based Pre-trained Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.05337/) (2022)
- [Evaluating Retrieval Quality in Retrieval-Augmented Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.13781/) (2024)
- [Untargeted Backdoor Watermark: Towards Harmless and Stealthy Dataset Copyright Protection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.00875/) (2022)
- [Extracting Accurate Materials Data from Research Papers with Conversational Language Models and Prompt Engineering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.05352/) (2023)
- [I Know What You Trained Last Summer: A Survey on Stealing Machine Learning Models and Defences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.08451/) (2022)
- [IPGuard: Protecting Intellectual Property of Deep Neural Networks via Fingerprinting the Classification Boundary](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.12903/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [Shadow in the Cache: Unveiling and Mitigating Privacy Risks of KV-cache in LLM Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.09442/) (2025)
- [SoK: Large Language Model Copyright Auditing via Fingerprinting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.19843/) (2025)
- [AdLift: Lifting Adversarial Perturbations to Safeguard 3D Gaussian Splatting Assets Against Instruction-Driven Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.07247/) (2025)
- [Towards Resilient Safety-driven Unlearning for Diffusion Models against Downstream Fine-tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.16302/) (2025)
- [DATABench: Evaluating Dataset Auditing in Deep Learning from an Adversarial Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.05622/) (2025)
- [NS-Net: Decoupling CLIP Semantic Information through NULL-Space for Generalizable AI-Generated Image Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01248/) (2025)
- [Beyond Data Privacy: New Privacy Risks for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.14278/) (2025)
- [DREAM: Scalable Red Teaming for Text-to-Image Generative Systems via Distribution Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.16329/) (2025)
- [Delving into the Temporal Challenges of Unified Video Protection Against Image-to-Video and Fine-Tuning-based Customization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.13336/) (2026)
- [PromptCOS: Towards Content-only System Prompt Copyright Auditing for LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.03117/) (2025)
- [SWAP: Towards Copyright Auditing of Soft Prompts via Sequential Watermarking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.04711/) (2025)
- [JANUS: A Lightweight Framework for Jailbreaking Text-to-Image Models via Distribution Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.21208/) (2026)
- [Cert-LAS: Toward Certified Model Ownership Verification for Text-to-Image Diffusion Models via Layer-Adaptive Smoothing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.29809/) (2026)
- [Towards Effective Prompt Stealing Attack against Text-to-Image Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06837/) (2025)
- [External Data Extraction Attacks against Retrieval-Augmented Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.02964/) (2025)
- [Intellectual Property Protection for 3D Gaussian Splatting Assets: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.03878/) (2026)
- [Echoes within the Reasoning: Stealthy and Effective Watermarking via Chain of Thought](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.28890/) (2026)
- [LoRA-Key: User-Centric LoRA Watermarking for Text-to-Image Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.29569/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The (generative) artificial intelligence (AI) era has profoundly reshaped the meaning and value of data. No longer confined to static content, data now permeates every stage of the AI lifecycle from the training samples that shape model parameters to the prompts and outputs that drive real-world model deployment. This shift renders traditional notions of data protection insufficient, while the boundaries of what needs safeguarding remain poorly defined. Failing to safeguard data in AI systems can inflict societal and individual, underscoring the urgent need to clearly delineate the scope of and rigorously enforce data protection. In this perspective, we propose a four-level taxonomy, including non-usability, privacy preservation, traceability, and deletability, that captures the diverse protection needs arising in modern (generative) AI models and systems. Our framework offers a structured understanding of the trade-offs between data utility and control, spanning the entire AI pipeline, including training datasets, model weights, system prompts, and AI-generated content. We analyze representative technical approaches at each level and reveal regulatory blind spots that leave critical assets exposed. By offering a structured lens to align future AI technologies and governance with trustworthy data practices, we underscore the urgency of rethinking data protection for modern AI techniques and provide timely guidance for developers, researchers, and regulators alike.