ChatGPT temporarily banned in Italy over privacy concerns
of a chatbot on the Telegram app without their consent. The data protection authority said OpenAI unlawfully collected personal data from users of a chatbot on the Telegram app without their consent.
ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, was temporarily banned by the Italian government on Friday. This is the first time that a Western country has blocked the tool due to privacy concerns.
The Italian data protection authority stated that OpenAI, a California-based company which makes ChatGPT illegally collected user data and did not use an age verification system to protect minors from inappropriate material.
This order shows the new policy challenges that are facing developers of cutting edge AI following the release of ChatGPT. The program has dazzled its users with the ability to write essays, have humanlike conversations, and perform more complicated tasks such as writing computer code. But it has also raised alarms over the spread of misinformation and the impact on employment.
More than 1,000 researchers and technology leaders called for a ban on the development of AI systems that are most advanced this week to allow safety policies to be implemented. The Center for AI and Digital Policy (an advocacy group that promotes ethical technology use) has requested the US Federal Trade Commission block OpenAI's release of new commercial versions ChatGPT.
OpenAI has been told by Italian regulators to prevent internet users from accessing ChatGPT in Italy until the company provides additional information. The company will have 20 days to submit the information and any possible remedies. A final decision about the future of ChatGPT in Italy can only be made after that.
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Regulators pointed to a data breach on March 20th that exposed the conversations and payment details of certain users. OpenAI, according to the agency, could face a fine of up to EUR20,000,000 or 4% of its global annual revenue.
OpenAI has declined to comment.
The chatbot had not been informed that the bot would be blocked by Italy as of Friday 5pm. ChatGPT responded to a question from a user in Italy asking if the chatbot would be blocked due to privacy concerns.
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The chatbot explained that it was an artificial language model which could be accessed anywhere on the planet as long as they had an internet connection. This article was originally published in
The New York Times
.
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