The debate regarding the development of artificial intelligence that is truly “conscious, self-aware, and intelligent” continues to rage on, and is in fact, the defining discussion of this era. For policy makers and lawyers, one of the main issues focuses on the potential risks associated with the use of AI. ChatGPT is the latest AI-chatbot to have gained immense popularity, with its GPT-4 language model capabilities allowing it to instantly assess and process vast amounts of data. It has also become rather effective in carrying out activities like writing emails, answering queries, and constructing legal documents. However, it has several limitations, and is at risk of generating incorrect, biased, and possibly harmful information.
One of the biggest issues posed by these chatbots is the privacy and security concerns associated with their usage. Despite the ability to disable features of the chatbot, it continues to use conversations presented to it to train its model further. This data is vulnerable to exposure, and unless encrypted and secured, could potentially be accessed and sold by malicious actors. Samsung recently imposed a restriction on the usage of Bing, Google’s Bard, and ChatGPT on any devices that directly interact with the company’s internal networks, after an employee shared certain sensitive internal data, including source code, on the ChatGPT platform.
These risks mean that phishing and social engineering attacks are always a looming threat for users. The nature of ChatGPT also leads to an increased possibility of the spread of misinformation, fake news, and other harmful or offensive content. Even with checks and balances imposed by the creators of these AI-chatbots, “rogue” versions such as DAN, which can rewrite its own code to elude these checks, have appeared on the scene.
To ensure a safe via ChatGPT, it is important to take key measures to protect one’s data. Such as, encrypting and securing confidential information, avoiding sharing sensitive information on the platform, and closely monitoring the chatbots to ensure they generate accurate outputs and prevent the spread of misinformation. Companies must also be extra cautious and ensure that their employees do not misuse these chatbots and sharing company-related data on such platforms.
