The rapid growth and development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has prompted countries all over the world to start regulating its usage in responsible ways. In December 2022, Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence research company OpenAI released its powerful ChatGPT chatbot which quickly went viral. Due to privacy concerns, Italy launched an investigation into ChatGPT, followed now by Canada launching its own probe into OpenAI’s data collection.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, alongside its equivalents in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, is investigating OpenAI’s data collection and usage. With this probe, the regulatory body is determining if the company has been obtaining consent from Canadian citizens prior to collecting, using, and disclosing their personal information with the ChatGPT chatbot. The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has yet to comment on the matter.
This investigation will further be inspecting whether OpenAI has respected its obligations regarding “openness and transparency, access, accuracy, and accountability” in handling Canadian user data. After conducting the investigation, the findings will be reported publicly.
The launch of ChatGPT sparked an AI race between the world’s top tech giants including Alphabet Inc (Google’s parent company) and Meta. This has prompted governments to create laws that regulate the use of the technology. The European Union is currently in the early stages of developing laws that oversee AI-powered applications, something which OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman publicly supported. Altman has also talked about the idea of leaving Europe if OpenAI is unable to comply with EU regulations in the future.
OpenAI is a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research company created in the year 2015, co-founded by businessman Sam Altman and technology venture capitalist Elon Musk. It is now backed by the likes of Amazon, Carnegie Mellon, and Microsoft. OpenAI has made big strides in the world of artificial intelligence, with projects such as OpenAI Gym, a toolkit of reinforcement learning algorithms that are now commonly used, as well as various artificial intelligence projects working towards advancing the capabilities of the technology.
