ChatGPT: A Potential Privacy Threat?
If you have been keeping up with the tech world, you might have heard about ChatGPT. It is an AI-chatbot developed by OpenAI and has been making headlines lately due to its incredible potential. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and ChatGPT is no exception. As its popularity grows, so do concerns regarding its impact on privacy.
The Data Collection Problem
One of the primary concerns regarding ChatGPT is the collection of data. To function effectively, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT require vast amounts of data. This data can include everything from books and articles to websites and social media posts.
While collecting such a vast amount of data might seem harmless, it raises privacy concerns. OpenAI has never asked people for consent to use their data, and it is not possible for individuals to check which information has been stored or ask for it to be deleted. This goes against privacy laws and violates what privacy experts call contextual integrity.
The right to be forgotten is crucial under the GDPR, allowing people to have their record of personal data erased upon request. Unfortunately, individuals cannot exercise this right with ChatGPT.
The Spread of Misinformation
Another significant issue with ChatGPT and similar software is their tendency to make up inaccurate or false claims. This could lead to the spread of fake news, which could easily damage people's reputation. One example of this was a false sexual harassment accusation against an American law professor. ChatGPT used data without the consent of its victims, leaving them with little recourse to respond to the allegations.
The Privacy Policy Problem
OpenAI's privacy policy is also problematic. ChatGPT collects a considerable amount of user data, including IP address, browser details, interactions with sites, and browsing activities over time. Users cannot even use masked email addresses or passwords for extra safety. Furthermore, OpenAI states that it can disclose users' personal information to third parties "without further notice."
Jose Blaya, Director of Engineering at Private Internet Access (PIA), is concerned that if not carefully protected, this huge amount of personal data could potentially fall into the hands of cybercriminals, which is another growing danger of ChatGPT.
The Future of ChatGPT
With ChatGPT's popularity growing, governments are struggling to keep up, and there is a push to regulate LLMs. However, due to how they work, crafting AI laws to secure citizens' privacy has turned out to be more challenging than expected.
AI is an incredibly difficult area to regulate, partly because it is such a new and fast-developing technology and partly because its reach is so broad that in trying to regulate the way that it gathers data, you would essentially be trying to regulate the entire internet. Nonetheless, there is hope that policymakers can work together to find a way to secure citizens' privacy while still allowing AI to thrive.
