OpenAI’s latest AI model, GPT-4o, has sparked privacy and copyright concerns due to its extensive data collection practices. The new model, which offers users free access to advanced textual, vocal, and visual functionalities, comes with a hidden cost: the collection of user data, including texts, audio recordings, and images.
One of the major concerns surrounding GPT-4o is its collection of not only users’ data but also third-party data revealed during interactions with the AI service. For example, when users upload screenshots containing copyrighted content, such as articles from publications like the New York Times, OpenAI retains that data without users’ explicit consent.
The quest for suitable training data has also raised questions about the quality of the data being used by OpenAI. Reports indicate that the company transcribed over a million hours of YouTube videos, a practice that violated YouTube’s rules at the time.
As AI companies like OpenAI continue to push boundaries in data collection, concerns about privacy, copyright infringement, and unauthorized data usage are mounting. Content creators and publishers are taking steps to protect their rights, with some implementing technological measures to prevent data scraping and others issuing cease and desist orders to AI firms and streaming services.
In response to the challenges posed by AI’s encroachment on copyright, more than 200 musicians, including big names like Billie Eilish and Katy Perry, have signed an open letter demanding that AI developers and tech companies cease using artificial intelligence to infringe upon the rights of human artists.
The evolving landscape of AI technology and data usage is raising important ethical and legal questions that will need to be addressed as the industry continues to develop. The recent downtime experienced by OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool serves as a reminder of the complex issues at play in the intersection of AI, data privacy, and copyright protection.
