The head of Italy’s privacy watchdog, Pasquale Stanzione, has expressed hope that the popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, will make the necessary changes to adjust its operation and be back online in the country again by April 30th. The Italian Data Protection Authority temporarily blocked ChatGPT at the end of March due to data privacy concerns, becoming the first Western country to take action against the AI chatbot. In order for ChatGPT to be online again, Stanzione has expressed that it must verify the user’s age and “take useful steps”. Additionally, the users should be made aware that their data is potentially being used for the training of the algorithm.
One of the issues Italy has raised with ChatGPT is the lack of clarity over whose data the chatbot is using and how it is being processed. Another major concern is that the chatbot might generate wrong answers and expose children to “absolutely unsuitable answers”.
OpenAI, the US firm that makes ChatGPT, gained international recognition after the artificial intelligence (AI) bot gained instant success. The buzz around the bot was such that OpenAi was actually given a multibillion-dollar deal with Microsoft to use ChatGPT’s technology in its services. Following the success of ChatGPT, other tech companies have been scrambling to create their own AI chatbot, while venture capitalists have been hustling to invest in similar projects.
Although the discussions between the Italian Data Protection Authority and OpenAI have been positive, to ensure ChatGPT can go back online in the country, OpenAI must make the necessary changes to adjust their AI chatbot as requested by Italy.
