Germany is launching an inquiry into the use of personal data by the AI chatbot ChatGPT, created by US startup OpenAI, a regulator has said. The demand for answers follows similar actions from other European countries such as Italy, France and Spain.
Marit Hansen, the Schleswig-Holstein state’s top data protection executive, stated on Tuesday that questions had been compiled for OpenAI and that a response must be given by June 11th in order to verify the legitimacy of their operations under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These queries target their know-your-customer technique and data privacy risks.
Protection authorities want to know if protections are in place to ensure that Europeans will understand how their rights to privacy, such as their rights to access, change, or delete personal data are exercisable. It is also necessary to ascertain whether data related to minors falls within GDPR standards.
ChatGPT has gained international recognition for its unique applications. However, it has also triggered ethical concerns, given the access its neural network requires to large datasets. In response, Italy imposed a temporary ban on its use in April to investigate if their data acquisition strategy was compliant with data protection laws. After adjustments have been made to the software, Italy allowed the chatbot to relaunch its services in the country.
OpenAI, founded in 2015 in San Francisco by Google Brain co-founders, has created a virtual agent powered by natural language processing (NLP). It provides in-depth analysis of conversations, summarised reports on topics, as well as automated written responses for emails, instant messaging, and texting.
The company’s vision is to democratise NLP services and provide an unprecedented performance in a machine read-write conversation. However, the team is meeting heavy criticism over its data training practices, which has raised important ethical questions on digital autonomy and privacy.
OpenAI is a digital powerhouse using AI to develop applications used by millions of people around the world. The founders of the San Francisco-based startup are renowned artificial intelligence experts, such as researches from Google Brain and entrepreneurs in AI. With its game-changing ChatGPT program, OpenAI is paving the way towards a new era of text based communication.
The regulatory inquiry into OpenAI signals a broader debate discussions over data protection policies, as the European Union continues to examine the potential pitfalls of AI-trained programs.
