How the AI Era Is Reshaping Data Protection

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning , Data Privacy , Data Security How the AI Era Is Reshaping Data Protection Google's Kristie Chon Flynn on Building Privacy Into the AI Development Life Cycle Tom Field (SecurityEditor) • March 24, 2026     Share Post Share Credit Eligible Get Permission Kristie Chon Flynn, data protection officer, privacy, safety, security engineering, Google Three years into the modern artificial intelligence revolution, data protection can no longer be an afterthought - it must be engineered in from the start, said Kristie Chon Flynn, data protection officer of privacy, safety, security engineering at Google. See Also: Redefining Pen Testing for the Agentic Enterprise AI era demands a fundamental rethink of data protection: build it in, don't bolt it on. Flynn said privacy-enhancing technologies, or PETs, are what make that scalable. Tools such as differential privacy, synthetic data and trusted execution environments have moved from academic research into practical use, enabling organizations to embed privacy directly into the AI development life cycle. "Good governance is not static, it's dynamic," she said. "It is understanding who needs to make what kind of risk decision, and making sure that there is structure and principles and framework around it." In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSAC Conference 2026, Flynn also discussed: How Google's Secure AI Framework aligns teams across engineering, legal and security on a common risk language; Why contextual integrity is the emerging privacy challenge of 2026; How PETs enable organizations to converge cybersecurity, data protection and compliance requirements without sacrificing business velocity. Flynn leads global data protection and data risk management efforts at Google, building scalable governance programs that support innovation, compliance and user trust. She previously led privacy and data governance at PayPal and HCL Technologies, aligning regulatory strategy with business and transformation.