The European Data Protection Board (EDPB), the body overseeing data protection in the European Union, said on Thursday, April 13 that it has set up a task force to examine the potential ethical and legal implications of ChatGPT, the revolutionary artificial intelligence (AI) application that has gained over 100 million active users in just a few months. Italy and Spain have launched preliminary investigations on the app to assess potential violations of consumer privacy, whilst experts, the US government, and other governments in Europe have since expressed their concern about the fast adoption of such technologies.
The task force by the EDPB aims to foster cooperation between European states, and to develop and implement comprehensive policies regarding data protection with respect to AI technologies.
OpenAI, the company founded by Microsoft and who owns ChatGPT, responded to Italy’s investigation, saying it is in compliance with the EU’s GDPR data protection policy and “all of the app’s processes are securely managed in accordance with privacy regulations.” OpenAI also noted that the implementation of the task force is a “positive ” step that is aimed to ensure the safety and privacy are balanced with the benefits of the technology.
The source at one of the national watchdogs, who remained anonymous, pointed out that the goal of the meeting was to create common policies that are understandable and transparent for everyone; not to punish OpenAI or any other companies. This task force also includes experts from across Europe, who are willing to share their understanding and knowledge to shape the policies set by the EDPB.
The EDPB will be working hard to develop a consensus between the European states, to come up with policies that are in the best interests of everyone. However, the task force is still in its early days, and it is likely to take some time before we have any concrete evidence of the consensus reached.
