The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has opened an investigation into OpenAI, a California-based company, and its chatbot, ChatGPT, due to complaints regarding the unauthorized collection, use and disclosure of personal information. On the same matter, the Italian Data Protection Authority has also announced a ban on OpenAI processing the data of Italian users, and has opened its own investigation.
OpenAI was founded by Microsoft Corporation member, venture capitalist and former president of Y Combinator Sam Altman and others in 2015. It is a research lab focused on artificial general intelligence. The AI Company has developedChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot designed for human-computer interaction. It is capable of participating in various chats and generating effective responses concerning given topics.
As for the person mentioned in the article, Philippe Dufresne is the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. He is responsible for leading the investigation and looking into the privacy concerns related to OpenAI. Commissioner Dufresne emphasizes that the A.I. technology and its impacts on privacy is a priority for his office, and that he aims to stay ahead of fast-moving technological advances.
This news highlights the need to protect online privacy. If a chatbot is capable of collecting, using and disclosing personal information, then there must be regulations in place to ensure secure practice. Although OpenAI had good intentions when creating its chatbot, it is necessary to ensure transparency and compliance with Canadian privacy laws.
