ROME (AP) \u2014 Italy is temporarily blocking the\u00a0artificial intelligence software ChatGPT\u00a0in the wake of a data breach as it investigates a possible violation of stringent European Union data protection rules, the government\u2019s privacy watchdog said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was taking provisional action \u201cuntil ChatGPT respects privacy,\u201d including temporarily limiting the company from processing Italian users\u2019 data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S.-based OpenAI, which developed the chatbot, said late Friday night it has disabled ChatGPT for Italian users at the government\u2019s request. The company said it believes its practices comply with European privacy laws and hopes to make ChatGPT available again soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While some public schools and universities around the world have\u00a0blocked ChatGPT from their local networks\u00a0over student plagiarism concerns, Italy\u2019s action is \u201cthe first nation-scale restriction of a mainstream AI platform by a democracy,\u201d said Alp Toker, director of the advocacy group NetBlocks, which monitors internet access worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The restriction affects the web version of ChatGPT, popularly used as a writing assistant, but is unlikely to affect software applications from companies that already have licenses with OpenAI to use the same technology driving the chatbot, such as\u00a0Microsoft\u2019s Bing search engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The AI systems that power such chatbots, known as large language models, are able to\u00a0mimic human writing styles\u00a0based on the huge trove of digital books and online writings they have ingested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Italian watchdog said OpenAI must report within 20 days what measures it has taken to\u00a0ensure the privacy of users\u2019 data\u00a0or face a fine of up to either 20 million euros (nearly $22 million) or 4% of annual global revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency\u2019s statement cites the EU\u2019s General Data Protection Regulation and pointed to a recent data breach involving ChatGPT \u201cusers\u2019 conversations\u201d and information about subscriber payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OpenAI earlier announced that it had to take ChatGPT offline on March 20 to fix a bug that allowed some people to see the titles, or subject lines, of other users\u2019 chat history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur investigation has also found that 1.2% of ChatGPT Plus users might have had personal data revealed to another user,\u201d the company had said. \u201cWe believe the number of users whose data was actually revealed to someone else is extremely low and we have contacted those who might be impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Italy\u2019s privacy watchdog, known as the Garante, also questioned whether OpenAI had legal justification for its \u201cmassive collection and processing of personal data\u201d used to train the platform\u2019s algorithms. And it said ChatGPT can sometimes generate \u2014 and store \u2014 false information about individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, it noted there\u2019s no system to verify users\u2019 ages, exposing children to responses \u201cabsolutely inappropriate to their age and awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OpenAI said in response that it works \u201cto reduce personal data in training our AI systems like ChatGPT because we want our AI to learn about the world, not about private individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Italian watchdog\u2019s move comes as concerns grow about the artificial intelligence boom. A group of scientists and tech industry leaders published a letter Wednesday calling for companies such as OpenAI to\u00a0pause the development of more powerful AI models\u00a0until the fall to give time for society to weigh the risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president of Italy\u2019s privacy watchdog agency told Italian state TV Friday evening he was one of those who signed the appeal. Pasquale Stanzione said he did so because \u201cit\u2019s not clear what aims are being pursued\u201d ultimately by those developing AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If AI should \u201cimpinge\u201d on a person\u2019s \u201cself-determination\u201d then \u201cthis is very dangerous,\u2033 Stanzione said. He also described the absence of filters for users younger than 13 as \u201drather grave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
San Francisco-based OpenAI\u2019s CEO, Sam Altman, announced this week that he\u2019s embarking on a six-continent trip in May to talk about the technology with users and developers. That includes a stop planned for Brussels, where European Union lawmakers have been negotiating sweeping new rules to limit high-risk AI tools, as well as visits to Madrid, Munich, London and Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European consumer group BEUC called Thursday for EU authorities and the bloc\u2019s 27 member nations to investigate ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots. BEUC said it could be years before the EU\u2019s AI legislation takes effect, so authorities need to act faster to protect consumers from possible risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn only a few months, we have seen a massive take-up of ChatGPT, and this is only the beginning,\u201d Deputy Director General Ursula Pachl said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waiting for the EU\u2019s AI Act \u201cis not good enough as there are serious concerns growing about how ChatGPT and similar chatbots might deceive and manipulate people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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