Germany has launched an inquiry into the use of personal data by the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, developed by US firm OpenAI. The region’s data protection authorities have sent a questionnaire to the tech giant and expect an answer by June 11.
Marit Hansen, commissioner for the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, announced the initiative Monday. She said the initiative was joined by other countries in Europe, raising concerns about the US-developed artificial intelligence.
OpenAI, a private tech firm, achieved international recognition for its AI-chatbot technology, ChatGPT, an automated conversational partner for people across the world. It has become popular in Germany and other European countries, as it has been increasingly used by businesses as well as individuals searching for online entertainment.
Privacy advocates have raised questions about OpenAI’s use of personal data collected from ChatGPT users and potential problems with data processing and storage. With this inquiry, Germany’s data protection authorities aim to review the technologies implemented by OpenAI to ensure compliance with GDPR regulations.
OpenAI is a three-year-old San Francisco-based startup led by Sam Altman and co-founded by Elon Musk, investing $1 billion into AI research. It is supported by companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and NVIDIA, and was able to create a successful commercially available product in ChatGPT.
Marit Hansen is the board director of Schleswig-Holstein’s independent Data Protection Authority, responsible for the Scandinavian region. She is an established data privacy expert, having worked with the European Data Protection Supervisor in Brussels and having served as an evaluator for European data protection reform projects for two decades.
Hansen and her team are now trying to answer questions regarding OpenAI’s data collection practices and whether ChatGPT users are adequately informed of data usage and protection. An answer is needed by June 11, and the situation will be closely monitored by data protection authorities across the continent.
