WASHINGTON (TNND) — In the age of artificial intelligence, the saying, “Know your worth,” has taken on a whole new level of meaning.

Americans’ personal data has become an indispensable asset for AI companies, advertisers, data brokers and other digital revenue players. These days, that data is used for much more than targeting advertisements; its used to build smarter, faster, more personalized AI products and systems. (TNND)

Americans’ personal data has become an indispensable asset for AI companies, advertisers, data brokers and other digital revenue players. These days, that data is used for much more than targeting advertisements; it’s used to build smarter, faster and more personalized AI products and systems.

“Any time that you’re doing something on the internet, you are most likely actually helping to train some AI. You are providing some data that has monetary value that can then be sold on your behalf,” said Bill Laboon, the vice president of technical operations at the Web3 Foundation, a Swiss-based tech group that advocates for a decentralized internet model where users control their data.

The foundation published a report this week that puts a dollar value on an individual’s personal data. For the average American, it’s $6,563 per year and $393,785 over a lifetime, before adjusted for inflation. Researchers included a range of online activities and information as personal data, from clicking and scrolling to location data and IP addresses.

AI makes personal data both more valuable and easier to collect, creating a “self-reinforcing spiral,” Laboon told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“Every time that you interact with a website, you are actually giving much more information than you think you are,” Laboon said.

According to the report, Americans’ data is more valuable than anyone else’s: The annual value of Europeans’ personal data is $1,604 and $96,241 over a lifetime. Across the rest of the world, where personal data isn’t monetized as often, it’s worth less than $300 per year and $15,899 over a lifetime.

“These findings show that the value being taken from an American user over a lifetime is close to the price of a typical home. On an inflation-linked basis, it is closer to two. For users in the UK and Europe, the lifetime figure is on a retirement-savings scale. Even globally, the inflation-linked value is equivalent to a serious household asset. These are not small sums hidden in the machinery of the internet. They are life-changing amounts of value,” the report said.

As personal data is made more accessible through advancements in AI, where companies see dollar signs, criminals see opportunities. According to the FBI’s latest internet crime report, personal data breaches in the United States last year resulted in more than $1.3 billion in losses.