The World Briefly
April 03, 2023Just A Minute
Italy
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Italy’s data protection watchdog issued a temporary ban on the popular artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT over alleged privacy violations, the first Western nation to do so, Euronews reported.
Over the weekend, the Italian National Authority for Personal Data Protection said the chatbot had experienced a data breach last month “concerning users’ conversations and payment information of subscribers to the paid service.”
The watchdog also criticized ChatGPT for failing to provide notice to users whose data is collected by its maker, the US-based OpenAI. It also complained that the AI lacks filters to verify the age of its users, saying that the chatbox risks exposing minors “to responses absolutely not in accordance with their level of development.”
OpenAI has 20 days to resolve the situation or risk a fine of up to four percent of its annual global turnover, the Italian authority said.
Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has become a sensation worldwide for its ability to explain complex things clearly and simply, create poems, write computer code, and even pass exams.
The watchdog’s announcement comes as the European police agency, Europol, warned last week that criminal groups are using AI chatbots to commit fraud and other cybercrimes.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk and hundreds of researchers worldwide cautioned that AI systems pose “profound risks to society and humanity,” and urged corporations to cease further research of the technology for at least six months.
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