Germany is stepping up to join other countries in Europe in questioning the personal data being used by the popular chatbot ChatGPT and demanding answers from US maker OpenAI. A regional data protection agency in Germany recently released a questionnaire meant for OpenAI, with a deadline of June 11th. The commissioner of Schleswig-Holstein, Marit Hansen, mentioned that they want to investigate if a data protection impact assessment has been conducted, and whether the data protection risks are under control. They are also concerned about the rights of those whose data is being used, such as the right to access or delete their data. German authorities have requested OpenAI to provide them with necessary information regarding the GDPR, European General Data Protection Regulation.
Italy has also taken certain measures to protect privacy laws, temporarily banning ChatGPT as a result. France and Spain also have their own respective procedures, with a formal procedure opened by France’s regulator after 5 complaints, and Spain’s AEPD data protection agency opening an inquiry. The European Union has also formed a task force that would help countries confront privacy issues.
ChatGPT is capable of generating essays, poems, and conversations from briefest prompts, even passing some difficult exams. However, this also raises concerns of damaging internet disinformation as well as replacing human workers. The chatbot functions as a result of training done by OpenAI on extremely large datasets, leading to worries of where the data is coming from, and how it is being handled.
OpenAI is a highly advanced artificial intelligence research laboratory, co-founded by scientist and entrepreneur Elon Musk and Sam Altman. The lab was established in 2015 with a mission to build safe AI and empower people with the technology. OpenAI has operated as a non-profit since 2018, and their team of researchers, engineers, and scientists are working to ensure that the power of AI remains available to benefit everyone.
