Open AI ChatGPT Available Again in Italy After Meeting Regulatory Demands
OpenAI has announced that ChatGPT is available again to users in Italy after the artificial intelligence chatbot was temporarily blocked by regulators over privacy concerns. The Italian data protection authority, Garante, asked OpenAI to fulfill several conditions by an April 30th deadline to have the ban lifted.
OpenAI met these conditions, including adding information on its website about how it collects and uses data that trains the algorithms powering ChatGPT. It also provided EU users with a new form for objecting to having their data used for training and added a tool to verify users' ages when signing up.
Generative AI systems like ChatGPT generate text, images, and other content that mimics human work and use vast pools of online data like digital books, blog posts, and other media. However, their rapid development has stirred concerns about possible ethical and societal risks from officials, and even tech leaders in the European Union.
Last month, Garante ordered OpenAI to temporarily stop processing the personal information of Italian users while it investigated a possible data breach. The watchdog said it didn't want to hamper AI's development but emphasized the importance of following the EU's strict data privacy rules. OpenAI said it "addressed or clarified the issues" raised by the watchdog.
Other regulators are also looking at similar AI systems, with France's data privacy regulator and Canada's privacy commissioner investigating after receiving complaints about ChatGPT.
