In a surprising move Friday, the Italian government officially banned the popular language model, ChatGPT, from operating within its borders, making it the first instance of a western nation country taking such action against the advanced artificial intelligence tool.
– Key points to note
Italy said the decision to ban ChatGPT, which is backed by Microsoft, was made due to concerns over privacy concerns. The Data Protection Authority launched a probe over a suspected breach of data collection rules, accusing ChatGPT of failing to check the age of its users who are supposed to be aged 13 and above.
ChatGPT has an “absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data” to “train” the chatbot, it said.
The agency gave OpenAI, the company that owns the chatbot, 20 days to respond with solutions. The company could in default face up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover, Reuters reported. OpenAI has not commented on the development yet.
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ChatGPT has gained widespread popularity for its ability to simulate human-like conversations, providing users with a seemingly endless source of information and entertainment. It has been used by individuals and organizations across the world for a range of purposes, from customer service to language translation.
After its release last November, the tool reached 100 million monthly active users in January, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history, according to a UBS study published last month.
The Italian government’s decision has put a major dent in the model’s global reach, and could potentially set a precedent for other countries to follow suit. ChatGPT is not available in Iran, Russia, mainland China, Hong Kong, and parts of Africa where residents cannot create OpenAI accounts.
Rival companies like Google have scrambled to develop similar products and the frenzy has attracted attention from regulators in some countries and even tech experts who are concerned about the potential impact on national security, jobs and education.
Tesla chief Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives on Wednesday called for a six-month pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAI’s newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society.
OpenAI has not provided details on how it trains its AI model.
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