EU task force set up to build pressure on Open AI over ChatGPT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Apr 2023 21:00

European Data Protection Board (EDPB) announces that a new task force is being readied as EU countries raise privacy concerns regarding the new AI chatbot ChatGPT.

The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen which displays the ChatGPT home Screen, Friday, March 17, 2023, in Boston. (AP)

A task force is being formed by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to assist countries with dealing with the popular ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, hoping to build up pressure on OpenAI, the US-based company that developed the program.

The EDPB announced that members of the board "decided to launch a dedicated task force to foster cooperation and to exchange information on possible enforcement actions conducted by data protection authorities."

ChatGPT has proven itself capable of passing some challenging tests and can create essays, poetry, and discussions from the shortest prompts.

However, the AI system has been plagued by worries that its abilities can encourage widespread cheating in schools, amp up disinformation online, and replace human employees.

Additionally, since the chatbot requires extensive datasets for training, there are questions regarding where OpenAI obtains its data from and how it uses it. According to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, such programs are obligated to provide precise personal data.

Italy restricts work of ChatGPT over data collection violations

The Italian Data Protection Authority on March 31st announced that it had restricted the operation of ChatGPT over its violations regarding data collection.

The decision, which was sparked by the leak of personal data by ChatGPT on March 20, would lead to "temporary restrictions on processing of user data" in Italy by chatbot developer OpenAI, the regulator indicated.

On March 25, a data breach caused thousands of users of the intelligence application to be compromised due to a bug that was later identified by OpenAI. About 1.2% of subscribers were affected by the leak, the developer said, highlighting that the figure is "extremely low".

The authority mentioned that it had demanded that OpenAI informs about measures it would take to increase the protection of data whose breach carries a penalty of a fine of up to 20 million euros ($21.8 million) or 4% of the company's annual turnover.