Samsung Electronics is enforcing a policy that institutes a ban on the use of popular AI tools such as ChatGPT by its staff members following the accidental leak of sensitive code to the platform. According to a memo that was viewed by Bloomberg News, the South Korean technological giant has prompted worries regarding how data is stored on external servers, outside of the company’s knowledge, which could lead to it being disclosed to other users.
Last month, the company surveyed a large portion of its employees on their AI usage in the workplace, leading to a staggering 65% of the responders having concerns about the security of using such platforms. The Suwon-based company held those suspicions ever since the aforementioned incident early in April, where Samsung engineers anonymously uploaded internal source code to ChatGPT.
The new regulation prohibits the utilization of these services on corporate devices, tablets, phones, and networks; this does, however, spare Samsung’s consumer products of being subject to the same rule. To prevent any further complications or issues, Samsung stressed the importance of utilizing the company’s on-site AI-enabling technologies, further enhancing the staff’s productivity, while also keeping a vigilant eye over the circulation of confidential information.
For years, industry leaders have shared concerns over the widespread usage of AI. In February of this year, many Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America placed restrictions or bans on utilizing such technology within their institution due to similar fears. Similarly, Italy implemented a ban on ChatGPT; this was rescinded shortly after its introduction.
Most recently, ChatGPT released an ‘incognito mode’ that allows its users to block the chat transcript and prevents others from using the conversations for AI training. To further combat these issues, Samsung is also in the works of creating a secure environment for using this technology without any risks to the company’s sensitive data.
Ultimately, the policy change is not only a setback to the further spread of AI-enabling tools in the industry, but a reminder of the importance of keeping data and information secure in the digital world.
