Irish Data Regulator Warns Against Hasty Chatbot Bans
The rapid growth in the popularity of generative AI like OpenAI's ChatGPT has raised concerns over its regulation. Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, Helen Dixon, has warned against rushing into chatbot bans without proper regulation. Dixon stated that the governing bodies need to figure out the appropriate way of controlling the technology before imposing prohibitions that are unlikely to stand up. She stated this during a Bloomberg conference, adding that the debate spans beyond data protection and includes copyright and defamation concerns.
Last week, Europe's national watchdogs overseeing privacy unilaterally established a task force on ChatGPT, following Italy's move to temporarily ban the chatbot. Italy's watchdog confirmed that it would allow the return of ChatGPT by the end of April if OpenAI takes useful measures to address their concerns. The AI tech company took the product offline in Italy last month.
The Irish DPC is the lead regulator in the EU for most of the world's significant technology firms that have their EU headquarters in Ireland. However, the DPC does not hold the same authority over OpenAI because it does not have offices in the bloc. Dixon emphasized that the debate over generative AI is in the early stages and that it is essential to understand more about the technology and large language models and where the training data is sourced.
Dixon urges the need to start the conversation early and also contribute to broader discussions about the risks and other areas of law that converge in AI.
It is imperative to have appropriate regulations in place to avoid hasty chatbot bans. Rushing into it without proper protocols in place could potentially harm the industry and contribute to the proliferation of unregulated chatbots.
