OpenAI Addresses Italian Authorities' Concerns Over ChatGPT Ban

OpenAI is currently taking steps to address the concerns expressed by Italian authorities in the wake of the ban on its ChatGPT chatbot in Italy, Reuters reports.

Garante, the country's data protection agency, accused Microsoft-backed OpenAI of failing to verify ChatGPT users' ages and of the "absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" to "train" the chatbot.

OpenAI Outlines Measures for Italian Watchdog

In response to these concerns, OpenAI has offered to be more open about handling user data and verifying users' ages.

On Wednesday, April 5, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman participated in a video conference with Italian authorities, where the company committed to presenting a document outlining measures to address Garante's requests.

Earlier this week, Garante has given OpenAI 20 days to respond to its order or face significant fines.

Concerns Against OpenAI's ChatGPT

ChatGPT is based on a massive language model that requires massive data to work effectively. To feed the model, Science Focus tells us that OpenAI managed to scrape around 300 billion words from the internet, including personal information obtained without consent. This data collection, however, raises several concerns.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a set of privacy rules that apply to any individual whose personal data is processed in the European Union.

The agency cited the EU regulation in its original statement and mentioned a recent data breach involving "users' conversations" and subscriber payment information from ChatGPT.

In addition, Italian regulators are also concerned about the potential for minors to access the technology. OpenAI has not implemented any measures to prevent children under 13 from registering to use the chatbot, leading to fears that the firm may process their personal data. Several claims have also claimed that ChatGPT handles proprietary or copyrighted data.

Furthermore, Professor Uri Gal of the University of Sydney Business School explains that OpenAI does not provide any procedure for individuals to verify whether their personal information is stored with the company or to request that it be deleted.

GDPR, on the other hand, guarantees individuals the right to have their data erased, which is especially important when the information is inaccurate or misleading, as is frequently the case with ChatGPT-generated content.

What's next?

The legal basis for OpenAI's processing of European data is also in dispute. While data protection authorities can order OpenAI to delete any personally identifiable information it has improperly processed, it is unclear whether the company would be required to retrain its models created using illegally obtained data.

OpenAI has responded to Garante's concerns, but whether the proposed measures will satisfy the Italian data protection agency remains to be seen.

The use of AI chatbots raises several concerns, including privacy, data protection, and infringement of intellectual property. While AI technology has significant potential benefits, these concerns must be addressed.

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