In the second episode of Cyberdistillery, Giuditta and Andrea discuss with Ayah Tharwat, a University of Luxembourg PhD student, about the impact of psychological distance on the disclosure of sensitive company information when using GenAI tools, specifically ChatGPT.

The conversation builds on Ayah’s academic research at the University of Luxembourg, where she has reflected on how employees are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools to facilitate and automate work processes, and found that four main dimensions affect GenAI disclosure of sensitive company information: social, spatial, temporal, and hypothetical dimensions.

Giuditta, Ayah, and Andrea discuss how proximity can substantially affect threat perception, in any aspect of our life and in many different domains.

Together, they also address how other factors could impact the willingness of employees to share sensitive information on LLMs, such as general awareness of cybersecurity risks, human factors such as emotions and stress, and the specific company practices, guidelines, and culture concerning the use of AI to carry out tasks.

Ayah’s publication: Frank, Muriel; Tharwat, Ayah; and Pocher, Nadia, "Far Enough to Share: Impact of Psychological Distance on GenAI Disclosure" (2025). AMCIS 2025 Proceedings. 20. https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2025/sig_sec/sig_sec/20

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Hosts: Andrea Bussini, Giuditta Fiori

Editor: Andrea Bussini