Italy’s data protection authority Garante is ramping up its scrutiny of Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms with a review of other AI tools and the hiring of AI experts. This follows the temporary ban of ChatGPT, a chatbot maker, in March.
Garante is taking this stance in light of the growing popularity of AI, with tech giants like Alphabet and Meta promoting their own platforms. This has led to conversations about new laws being argued and enforced worldwide.
Garante has stated their need for three AI advisers to keep up with the quick advancements and changes in the technology, as they do not have many AI experts among their 144 staffs. Garante is relying on existing laws to control and regulate the technology, citing GDPR in their ChatGPT case. This then led to OpenAI, the chatbot maker, making changes to gain compliance.
Garante uncovered noncompliance with EU data privacy rules as they explored the ChatGPT, leading to them taking swift action. Agostino Ghiglia, a member of Garante’s board, stated that they plan to launch a review of generative and machine learning AI applications to see if they address relevant data protection and privacy laws. If they come across any breaches, the authority will start new probes.
OpenAI was founded in late 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman. It is a for-profit and research laboratory, working to develop human-level AI for general purpose use. It primarily focuses on research and development in deep learning, reinforcement learning, unsupervised learning, and machine learning. OpenAI builds general AI systems for the benefit of all people, while regularly publishing research for other AI developers.
Agostino Ghiglia is a member of Garante’s board and a highly sought-after speaker on the topics of AI and data protection. He is passionate about uplifting the vulnerable and creating a safe, ethical AI system. His work has extended to countries across Europe, as he strives for better protections against privacy abuse. He is an expert on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and is part of the agency’s effort to protect user data. Additionally, Ghiglia leads the project to make sure AI technology is compliant with current laws.