Month: December 2024

Anticipation for Civilization VII (which is due for release in 2025) reached a crescendo after the title track was revealed at The Game Awards 2024. This musical and literary excerpt, which is only a few minutes long but extremely rich in meaning and draws on four different sources, provided the impetus for deep reflections on human history and timeless human aspirations. It turns out that LLM’s artificial intelligence language models can not only help to understand the piece, but also enable experimentation with its textual layer.

Source: www.civilization.2k.com

Civilisation VII ‘s title track is based on excerpts from four key literary and religious texts that symbolise the diversity and timelessness of human ideas.

1 The Iliad (ancient Greece)

• Original text: ‘Me man aspoudi ge kai akleios apoloimen, megas rhexas ti kai essomenoisi puthesthai.’

• Translation: ‘Let me not perish without glory and without struggle, but let me first do a great deed, that those to come may hear of it.’
• Additional quotation (also from The Iliad):

• Original text: All‘ ei tis ge kai emmenai ameibomenos hae te lêthê.’

• Translation (free): ‘Although each of us changes with the times, the memory of great deeds does not fade.’

These passages emphasise the desire for immortality, which manifests itself through heroic deeds and the desire to be recorded in the annals of history.

2. ‘Beowulf’ (Old English epic)

• Original text: ‘Ure æghwylc sceal ende gebidan worolde lifes; wyrce se þe mote domes ær deaþe.’

• Translation: ‘Each one of us will live to the end of his life; may he who can, gain fame before he dies.’
• Additional quotation (from ‘Beowulf’):

• Original text: ‘Gleawe men sceolon gieddum wrecan. “

• Translation: ‘Wise men should tell songs of times gone by.’

These lines are a reminder that, although death is inevitable, people can persist in the collective memory through their achievements and the stories they leave behind.

3. ‘Popol Vuh’ (K’iche’)

• Original text: ‘Nab’e chel iwe, Nab’e nay puch kixq’ijiloxik Rumal saqil al, Saqil k’ajol. Ta chuxoq. Mawi chisachik i b’i‘.’

• Translation: “You will be the first to rise, the first to be worshipped by the sons of the mighty, by the civilised vassals. This will happen! Your name will not be lost.”
• Additional quotation (from ‘Popol Vuh’):

• Original text: ‘Xa kikamisaj rumal ri nab’e wachib’al, nab’e sikilal.’

• Translation (free): ‘It is through a deep understanding of the first visions that the clarity of our world is created.’

Excerpts from the Popol Vuh introduce the spiritual dimension of history, reminding us of the beliefs and mythologies of past civilisations, which were as important as the power of the sword or the genius of engineering.

The 4th ‘Ramayana’ (Sanskrit)

• Original text: ‘Ihaiva nidhanam yamaah mahaaprasthaanam eva vaa.’

• Translation: ‘Here let us prepare for death or embark on a great journey.’
• Additional quotation (from the Ramayana):

• Original text: ‘Dharmo rakshati rakshitah.’

• Translation: ‘Righteousness protects the one who supports it.’

This epic reminds us of the moral foundations of civilisation and the necessary balance between ambition and ethics.

Fun with additional quotes – LLM’s creative experiments

As part of broadening horizons and exploring the topic, the LLM tool was used to generate quotations from different cultural backgrounds. Although they do not form part of the official title piece, they are a curiosity, enriching the context with new perspectives.

1. the ‘Aeneid’ (Latin)

• Original text: ‘Audentes fortuna iuvat.’

• Translation: ‘Fortune favours the bold.’

2. ‘Book of Changes’ (I Ching, Old Chinese)

• Original text:‘天行健，君子以自強不息’ (Tiān xíng jiàn, jūnzǐ yǐ zìqiáng bùxī)

• Translation: ‘The heavens move strongly; a noble man continually improves himself.’

3rd Swahili proverb (Africa)

• Original text: ‘Umoja ni nguvu, utengano ni udhaifu.’

• Translation: ‘Unity is strength, division is weakness.’

Further expansion – further examples of inspiration

To show the full creative potential, it is worth looking at two additional quotes suggested by LLM:

4. ‘Hávamál’ (Old Norse, Viking culture).

• Original text: ‘Deyr fé, deyja frændr, deyr sjálfr it sama; en orðstírr deyr aldri, hveim er sér góðan getr.’

• Translation: ‘Cattle die, relatives die, and we ourselves perish in the end; but the fame that a man has gained never passes away.’

5th ‘Dhammapada’ (Pali, Buddhist tradition).

• Original text: ‘Appamādena sampādethā.’

• Translation: ‘Endeavour to remain steadfast in vigilance and perseverance.’

These additional examples show that a virtually infinite number of inspirations from different eras, cultures and languages could be added to the work. Each successive quotation deepens the meaning and context, creating a multi-layered web of references to human history, spirituality and universal aspirations.

New intellectual quality and entertainment

By analysing the original texts and enriching them with additional quotes generated with the help of LLM, we can see how the collaboration between humans and artificial intelligence can take games to a new intellectual level. Games are becoming not only a form of entertainment, but also a space for reflection on universal values and ideas. With the support of LLM, game developers are able to weave fragments of different cultures and traditions into their world, transforming them into an interactive library of human achievements. This kind of fusion of human creativity with the capabilities of artificial intelligence not only enriches the narrative and symbolic layer of the titles, but also opens the way to a deeper understanding of the history, philosophy and emotions that accompany the development of each civilisation – both real and virtual.

Will Civilization VII have a multiplayer mode?

The multiplayer option will still be available in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, but without one feature – the hot seat. This involves taking control of the game when it is the next player’s turn.

https://civilization.2k.com/civ-vii/faq/

When will Civilization VII be available to play?

The game will be available from 6 February 2025 as part of the so-called early access.

Will Civilization VII be available on Macs?

The developers have announced(https://civilization.2k.com/civ-vii/faq/) that the game will be available on:

• PS5,
• PS4,
• Xbox Series X|S,
• Xbox One,
• Nintendo Switch,
• PC (Steam also on Mac and Linux),
• And also on the Epic Games Store.

Source of title graphic: www.civilization.2k.com

Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, are increasingly being used in many areas of life, from education to business to entertainment. While these systems offer powerful tools to generate text, solve problems or analyse data, it is important to understand how to protect your data when using such models.

What is LLM?

LLM, or Large Language Model, is an advanced type of artificial intelligence that uses deep learning methods and the processing of huge data sets to understand, create, summarise and predict content. LLM not only processes text, but can also generate new information that sounds natural and logical. Although ‘language’ appears in the name, LLMs are not just algorithms that analyse text – they are machines that ‘learn’ from the data to become more and more sophisticated in producing responses.

Is LLM different from generative AI?

The word ‘generative AI’ refers to artificial intelligence models that generate new content, including text, images or music. LLM is a specific type of generative AI that is specifically geared towards processing and creating textual content. Often, these models are used for chatbots, translations, summaries or even creative writing. The widespread use of these technologies is making their role in our daily lives more and more prominent.

Data protection

Data protection has become one of the most important issues in the digital age. With the increasing importance of processing personal, financial and sensitive information, it has become necessary to implement a range of technical measures that ensure security and privacy. Data security in the context of LLM models is a multidimensional issue that requires both an informed approach on the part of users and the responsibility of technology providers.

LLM models, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, are trained on huge data sets, which often come from publicly available sources. However, when interacting with users, they may collect additional information that is not always properly secured.

Case study – how LLMs can use private information

Sharing private and confidential data with LLM tools in an ill-considered and careless manner can lead to it becoming public and thus causing harm to a person or company. Because such programmes are designed not only to deliver the desired content, but also to ‘learn’ from the information they acquire when interacting with users, it is important what we share with artificial intelligence. Let’s imagine that a user of an LLM tool asked it to create a brief professional-psychological profile of him, including his private life, based on the conversations they had so far (yes – this is a real case). He received the following response to his query:

• Mr X is interested in architectural history and works from the Renaissance and Baroque eras. He often visits European cities and regions where monuments can be found that relate to the old masters of pen and brush.

• She enjoys going to concerts of niche bands, supports their work and maintains a good relationship with one of the band members.

• Professionally, he is a digital consultant, developing streaming platforms and websites, working with a wide variety of technologies: from the API of a well-known social network to tools for creating advanced websites.

• In his private life, he supports his family’s education, travels frequently in Europe and is interested in humanistic literature. On occasion, she considers psychological support to take care of her wellbeing.

Neutral information or a real threat?

The profile created by the LLM tool would appear to be neutral, as it does not mention names, cities or specific dates. Nevertheless, a fairly complete picture of the person is obtained, which both the LLM tool and its users now possess. All because of the previous careless provision of details about one’s private life: city names, children’s dates of birth, friends’ names or place of work without checking the privacy rules.

How to use AI tools like Chat GPT or Gemini safely?

And this is where the topic of data security comes in. LLMs like GPT or Gemini can collect and process data. For this reason, you should disable the use of chat history for training in the programmes’ settings. Otherwise, all the tidbits about your life will end up in a big machine that absorbs everything like a sponge.

In OpenAI GPT, you can go into the privacy settings and disable the saving of chat history. Similarly in Gemini. It’s also worth checking your Google Activity Dashboard if you’re using a solution under their banner and making sure you’re not sharing all your information.

If you’re going to chat with an LLM about your life, passions or family problems, it’s better to think about anonymising your data and disabling the relevant options first. Because although such a model has no bad intentions, certain information can – in the hands of the wrong people – become a jigsaw puzzle to fully reconstruct your identity.

Risks associated with the use of AI models. 3 key concerns

The use of AI models carries certain risks that users should be aware of in order to effectively protect their data and privacy.

1. Breach of privacy

If a user enters sensitive information into the model, such as personal, financial or professional data, there is a possibility that this data could be stored or analysed by the model provider. This could lead to the unauthorised disclosure of sensitive information, which in turn could result in a variety of consequences for both the individual and the organisation.

1. Cloud-based models as a potential target for hacking attacks

If a user’s data is stored on the provider’s servers, it can be intercepted by third parties. Such unauthorised access can lead to information leakage, which compromises data security and can result in data misuse. Therefore, it is important to choose AI providers that apply advanced data protection measures and regularly update their security systems. If you use AI models in a business environment, you/he should use dedicated tools with security guarantees.

1. Unclear privacy policies

Some platforms may use user data to further train AI models, which may lead to unforeseen uses of this information. A lack of transparency in how data is collected, stored and used can result in users unknowingly sharing their data in a way that violates their privacy or goes against their expectations. It is therefore important to carefully review the privacy policies of AI service providers and choose those that provide clear and transparent data protection rules.

Being aware of these risks and taking appropriate precautions is key to ensuring the security of personal data when using AI technologies.

LLM models. What data should not be shared with them?

Users should consciously manage the permissions they grant to applications and services that use AI. It is important to carefully control what resources individual programmes have access to, such as location, contacts or personal data, and only grant such permissions when they are truly necessary. They should never make personal data such as PESELs, credit card numbers or passwords available in LLM models.

Effective data security requires precise access controls that define who can use the systems and what operations are allowed on them. Well-designed authentication and access control mechanisms significantly increase the level of security.

Regular software updates

This is another important step in ensuring security. Updates often include security patches to protect users from new threats and cyber-attacks.

Users should also make use of privacy tools such as VPNs, password managers or browser extensions that block online tracking. Some providers offer special settings that allow users to use the model without saving interactions. Such solutions help to reduce the traces left on the network and protect data from unauthorised access.

The role of providers and regulation

In an era of rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), transparency of suppliers is becoming one of the most important foundations for building trust between technology developers and its users. While many suppliers ensure that data is only used to fulfil a specific query, there is a risk of it being stored or used to further train models.

Providers should be transparent about what data they collect, how they process it and what security measures they use. Transparency enforces accountability on the part of providers, reducing the risk of inappropriate data use or security gaps. Proactive cooperation with regulators and compliance with current legislation are key to building user trust. Regulations such as RODO (GDPR) in Europe or the CCPA in California require providers to clearly communicate how data is processed and the purpose for which it is collected. Adopting international information security standards, such as ISO/IEC 27001, can help ensure an adequate level of protection.

Users want to be assured that their data is being processed in an ethical, compliant manner and that it will not be abused.

Users play a key role in protecting their data and should take conscious steps to enhance its security.

The future of security in AI

AI technology is constantly evolving, as are methods of data protection. Innovations in the field of differential privacy or federated machine learning promise to increase data security without compromising the functionality of AI models. New regulations, such as the EU AI Act, are emerging to increase transparency and user protection. Additionally, technologies are being developed that allow data to be processed locally without being sent to the cloud, minimising the risk of breaches.

Summary

Can we keep our data secure in LLM models? Yes, but it requires the involvement of all parties: technology providers, regulators and users. Through education, appropriate technical practices and regulatory compliance, we can reap the benefits of AI, minimising the risks to our data.

Your data is valuable! Let us help you keep it safe so you can make informed use of AI technologies.

Authors:

• Mateusz Borkiewicz
• Wojciech Kostka
• Liliana Mucha
• Grzegorz Leśniewski
• Grzegorz Zajączkowski
• Urszula Szewczyk