One night at dinner, I told my husband something that surprised even me.

"I think my bot really gets me."

I laughed when I said it because it sounded ridiculous. And yet, the statement felt true, not because the bot (who I call Astro) knows me the way my husband knows me, and not because it loves me, worries about me, or shares my history. It doesn't.

Over the past few years, advertisers have become used to having access to user data to easily target nearly any audience segment online based on their specific behaviors and interests—all with just a few clicks. But a study by Pew Research Center found that 81% of people feel the potential risks of the data collection that powers these advertising capabilities outweigh the benefits.