At the end of March, Italy’s Data Protection Authority (DPA) made a drastic move and halted the use of ChatGPT, an AI-based chatbot, due to concerns over data privacy. This was a major turn of events as it made Italy the first Western country to restrict use of the widely used AI. Recently, Pasquale Stanzione, the DPA’s head, has expressed hope that a resolution can be met by the end of April, much to the rejoice of users and the OpenAI firm that operates the chatbot.
OpenAI, the American company behind ChatGPT, promised to make adjustments that, hopefully, would meet Italy’s privacy regulations and cautiousness. This includes verifying user ages, being more transparent on the usage of data, and discussing a method to decrease the potential of wrong answers generated by the chatbot. Furthermore, users should be informed of the purpose of their data and its usage in the AI technology that runs ChatGPT.
ChatGPT, which was released last year, has been making waves ever since. It’s the first of its kind to been able to generate content like essays, songs, exams, news articles, and more just from basic prompts. People from all over the world are using the AI technology for its utility and convenience, but questions over how the data collected is processed or where it’s coming from were raised. Eventually, these were the basis for Italy to halt the use ChatGPT until adjustments are made.
OpenAI, which is behind ChatGPT, has seen success and a large monetary benefit due to the preceding buzz it generated. It has attracted attention of big companies like Microsoft, which has integrated its technology into their Bing search engine and other programs. Other tech companies and venture capitalists have also started to get interested in AI projects, all thanks to the success of ChatGPT.
Notably, Stanzione has said that if OpenAI is willing to take action, then ChatGPT will be able to make a return to Italy on April 30. With these adjustments, it is possible that a common ground can be met between people’s privacy and the availability of this incredibly useful technology.
