User Input Validation for AI Systems

This question asks how you check and clean the information users type or upload before it reaches your AI systems. Think of it like a security checkpoint - you need to inspect what users send to make sure it won't break your system, steal data, or make your AI behave unexpectedly. This includes checking for malicious prompts, oversized inputs, or attempts to manipulate your AI's responses.

Poor input validation is the gateway to AI security disasters - from prompt injection attacks that expose sensitive data to system crashes that take down your service. Strong validation protects your intellectual property, prevents abuse that could rack up AI processing costs, and ensures your AI behaves predictably for all customers. This is essential for maintaining service reliability and avoiding costly security incidents.

Companies often validate traditional inputs but forget about AI-specific threats like prompt injection or jailbreaking attempts. Another common error is implementing validation only on the frontend, which sophisticated attackers can easily bypass - validation must happen server-side before data reaches your AI models.