Lawyers across the world can breathe a sigh of relief: They can now turn off chat history for the widely adopted ChatGPT application. This significant update from the creators of ChatGPT, OpenAI, eliminates a major ethical barrier to using the app for legal purposes, as it ensures that confidential client data remains private.
OpenAI recently announced their ability to turn off Chat History for ChatGPT, as well as their addition of a feature which will prevent OpenAI from using user queries to improve the program. In their blog post, they noted that conversations started when chat history is disabled won’t be used to train or improve models, and will be automatically deleted after 30 days.
To take full advantage of this security update and ensure protection of confidential client data, lawyers should toggle the “Chat History & Training” slider which appears in the “Data Controls” section under “Settings” after clicking on the three dots next to their email address in the lower left corner. Additionally, they have the option to export their data.
The legal field has experienced an uptick in the usage of AI, highlighted in the recent Thomson Reuters survey. When respondents were asked whether ChatGPT/generative AI could be applied to legal work, an incredible 82% answered with a resounding “yes”. This new security feature should allay the majority of clients’ security fears that typically come with the usage of AI for legal services, as OpenAI will now be implementing its API data usage policies with their new ChatGPT Business subscription, ensuring end user data won’t be used to train models by default.
The person responsible for the revolutionary AI technology is Andrew Perlman, a Suffolk University Law School Dean, who is no stranger to using and encouraging AI usage in the legal field. He has been quoted as saying, “I think this technology will prove to be at least as transformative as the internet and quite possibly more so.”
OpenAI is a renowned technology company focused on developing artificial general intelligence for the benefit of humanity, and is based in San Francisco. It is the creator of ChatGPT. They are renowned as a reputable company with excellent security and maintain end user data for only 30 days before auto-deleting it. This security enhancement is an example of their commitment to helping to build trust between AI and humanity.
In conclusion, the legal profession’s usage of AI, once seen as too dangerous or expensive, is now becoming more accepted by the profession and the public due to OpenAI’s security features and features, further perpetuated by the optimistic mindset of Dean Andrew Perlman. This, coupled with the new ability to turn off chat history, is sure to make AI even more useful to lawyers and their clients.
