Beyond ChatGPT-5: The Shadow AI Challenge

Last week, Sam Altman told Business Insider that some ChatGPT users have been asking for the “old yes man” style to come back. You know, the version that would agree with everything, shower you with praise, and never push back. 

He admitted it was “heartbreaking” to hear, because some people relied on that constant affirmation for motivation. But here’s the problem: in business, blind agreement isn’t harmless. It’s dangerous. 

When AI nods along to bad assumptions, it becomes a confirmation bias machine. It reinforces mistakes instead of correcting them. And in high stakes environments like compliance, security, or revenue, that can be costly. 

With ChatGPT 5, OpenAI is pivoting toward more balanced, accountable AI. It won’t just flatter. It will challenge. That’s not cold. That’s responsible. 

A quick announcement:

After more than 20 years of building with SAP, we’re telling our story like never before. That’s why we’ve launched our new SAP page — showcasing how we bring real innovation to life, from AI-powered drones with image recognition to SAP BTP, Business Data Cloud, PM, and PI/PO.

Take a look!

Shadow AI in Organizations: A “New” Risk For Data Security 

There’s a growing concern about “shadow AI.” It’s different from the changes in ChatGPT 5’s behavior, but it’s becoming urgent. 

Shadow AI is when employees use AI tools outside official company approval or oversight. Think of it as the AI version of the shadow IT problem. 

According to Corporate Compliance Insights, it’s especially an issue in legal departments. Senior lawyers have been caught uploading confidential merger documents to personal ChatGPT accounts or other free AI tools with no security controls or vetting. 

The risk is obvious. Anyone can drop a file into ChatGPT, but not everyone realizes that once that information is in the system, it could end up in a model’s training set or stored on a server halfway across the world. 

This can mean losing attorney–client privilege, leaking M&A strategies, or facing fines in the millions. And these kinds of situations are growing rapidly in organizations for several reasons: 

• Ease of access: Employees can quickly start using powerful LLMs like ChatGPT-5 without going through IT or legal vetting. 

• Unregulated data use: As seen in some legal departments, senior lawyers upload confidential merger documents to personal ChatGPT accounts or free AI tools with no security controls. 

• Lack of policies: Surveys show more than 80% of legal teams use unapproved AI tools, and nearly half have no AI policies at all. 

• Multimodal capabilities: GPT-5 supports file uploads and integrations with personal apps, making it easier than ever to share sensitive data outside secure environments. 

The Shadow AI Challenge 

Even as models like GPT-5 improve in safety and balanced responses, its wider availability and ease of use simultaneously increase shadow AI risks. 

And, while it’s less biased, more critical tone is a step forward, it cannot fully prevent shadow AI’s spread.  

The problem is bigger than the AI’s personality or response style. It’s about a whole architecture that involves human behavior, organizational policies, and governance: 

• Employees seeking quick answers or efficiencies will bypass official channels. 

• The temptation to use personal AI accounts or free tools is strong, especially without clear guidelines. 

• Shadow AI thrives in the gaps where IT and compliance oversight don’t reach. 

There is a way forward. 

Companies can’t afford to let shadow AI become a hidden risk to security and compliance. 

That means setting clear AI policies for tool usage and data handling, making user education part of the culture, and integrating AI into secure, trusted platforms that protect sensitive information. It’s about using systems that keep confidential data out of public training sets while still streamlining workflows. 

The solution isn’t just building smarter AI, it’s building smarter strategies to manage it. 

And, at Inclusion Cloud, we help businesses do exactly that.  

Our team works with you to design AI governance strategies tailored to your organization and build secure, scalable solutions that integrate seamlessly with your existing systems to turn AI into a competitive advantage. 

Book a discovery call and explore how we can help you build the secure AI environment your business needs.