OpenAI: ChatGPT back in Italy after meeting watchdog demands
OpenAI has announced that its artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, is back in Italy after it fulfilled the conditions set by the data protection authority in the country. The regulator had temporarily blocked the chatbot over privacy concerns. OpenAI said that it met the April 30 deadline to lift the ban on the AI software by satisfying the raft of conditions that the watchdog wanted. ChatGPT is a generative AI system that uses vast quantities of online data like digital books, blog posts and other media to produce text, images and other content that mimics human work.
Generative AI systems like ChatGPT have created huge interest in the tech world. However, they have also raised ethical and societal issues, and even top tech leaders have expressed concerns. For instance, European Union negotiators are trying to update draft artificial intelligence regulations that have been in development for years. Last month, the Italian watchdog known as Garante, asked OpenAI to temporarily stop processing Italian users’ personal information while it investigated a possible data breach. It also questioned whether there was a legal basis for OpenAI to collect huge amounts of data used to train ChatGPT's algorithms. The watchdog imposed the ban after some users’ messages and payment information were exposed to others.
OpenAI said that it fulfilled the conditions required by adding information to its website about how it collects and uses data. It also provided EU users with a new form to object to their data being used for training. OpenAI added a tool to verify users’ ages when they sign up, and the watchdog said it welcomed the company’s actions. However, the watchdog still has two other demands. It wants an age-verification system and a publicity campaign to inform Italians about the backstory and their right to opt-out of data processing.
Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini praised the chatbot’s return and said his party was “committed to helping start-ups and development in Italy.” OpenAI is not the only company that has been scrutinized about its AI systems. France’s data privacy regulator and Canada’s privacy commissioner are investigating after receiving complaints about ChatGPT, while the head of the Federal Trade Commission in the US warned this week that the US government would “not hesitate to crack down” on harmful business practices involving artificial intelligence.
