The Italian Data Protection Authority recently issued a prohibition on ChatGPT out of worries regarding the unlawful acquisition of personal data and the absence of protections to prevent young people from using the chatbot.
OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, has been instructed by Italy’s privacy watchdog to cease processing the personal data of Italian users immediately. This is a temporary restriction as the watchdog investigates any potential GDPR violations committed by the chatbot.
OpenAI spokesperson to The Guardian says:
“We are committed to protecting people’s privacy and we believe we comply with GDPR and other privacy laws. We actively work to reduce personal data in training our AI systems like ChatGPT because we want our AI to learn about the world, not about private individuals,”
Exploring CHATGPT’s Rapid Growth And Criticism
Open AI and ChatGPT have been criticized, despite rapidly gaining millions of users since launch due to their ability to formulate natural responses. Nevertheless, this has not stopped Microsoft from integrating the chatbot into its Bing search engine.
Last month, tech elites like Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak and other experts signed a letter requesting a six-month moratorium on further developing powerful natural language systems beyond GPT-4 – the basis of ChatGPT.
The letter’s authors warned about possible risks to society and civilization that could arise from AI systems that can compete with human intelligence. They argued that such machines could cause destabilizing economic and political issues and thus urged developers to take a proactive role in working with policymakers on rules governing their use.
In an opinion piece for Time that turned viral, Eliezer Yudkowsky fervently suggested we should “shut it all down.” His argument was so strong that even the idea of a full nuclear exchange between two countries seemed more favorable for him than allowing AI systems to progress.
The Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), a non-profit organization, is the workplace of Yudkowsky and is dedicating its efforts to identifying and managing the potential risks resulting from artificial general intelligence systems in the future.
Why Is Italy Banning ChatGPT AI Writing Technology?
The GDPD has declared that there is no legal basis for the mass accumulation and storage of personal data to facilitate machine learning models, such as those developed for ChatGPT. Furthermore, findings have shown that responses computed by ChatGPT do not always reflect accurate information.
The privacy watchdog raised the issue that despite the target age of users being over 13, Askdid not have any filter to verify their age which could lead to minors accessing inappropriate answers according to their maturity and awareness.
The Irish data protection commission has announced its intent to “coordinate with all EU data protection authorities” following Italy’s ban on ChatGPT. This makes Italy potentially the first European country to do so, and the commission is currently following up with the Italian regulator to understand its motivation.
This incident serves as a reminder of the need for ongoing discussions and collaboration between regulators, developers, and users to address AI technologies’ complex ethical and societal implications. It is crucial to approach these issues proactively and to develop a framework that enables the benefits of AI while minimizing the risks.
While Italy’s decision to ban ChatGPT may be controversial, it highlights the need for ongoing dialogue and collaboration to ensure that AI technologies are developed and used responsibly and that individuals’ privacy is protected.
Source: The Indian Express
