A coming global trend? – Digital Economy Blog

2024-01-20 13:07:42

ChatGPT chatbot AI continues to garner attention. Initially praised for its technical performances, in particular its ability to generate structured texts in various fields and languages, it is today at the heart of a controversy in Italy. In April 2023, the National Personal Data Protection Authority (equivalent to the CNIL in France) took the unprecedented decision to suspend ChatGPT, marking a significant turning point.

For what ?

The Italian Personal Data Protection Authority stressed that its suspension decision has “immediate effect”. She accuses the chatbot of failing to comply with European regulations, also known as GDPR, by failing to verify the age of minor users. Although the robot is designed for users over 13 years old, the Italian authority insists that the absence of filters to verify age exposes minors to responses that are not at all adapted to their level of development.

Request for transparency

In an interview with the Wired Italia site, the Garante explained that it had noted the absence of a “legal basis justifying the massive collection and storage of personal data with a view to forming the algorithms underlying the operation of the platform”.

Furthermore, users are not explicitly informed that their conversations with ChatGPT are used to feed and improve the algorithm. Careless employees transmitted confidential information about their companies to the machine, which was then reproduced by the chatbot to other users. The authority aims to ensure that Internet users are clearly informed of these practices and have the opportunity to give their consent, or not.

Could this slow down innovation?

OpenAI has twenty days to explain how it will comply with the regulations, risking a fine of 20 million euros or 4% of its turnover. Emphasis is placed on the need not to sacrifice individual rights in the name of innovation. An OpenAI spokesperson says they are actively working to reduce the use of personal data in training their AI, expressing a willingness to cooperate with any future regulation of AI.

Access to ChatGPT in Europe may be restricted soon.

From the Brazilian region to Nigeria, from Europe to Asia, Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI and creator of ChatGPT, is on a world tour to allay concerns about artificial intelligence and avoid excessive regulation, by particularly in Europe. At his tenth stop in London on May 24, Altman took a tougher stance, warning that OpenAI could withdraw from the European Union if future regulations become excessively burdensome.

Besides China, where access to ChatGPT is limited and requires the use of a VPN

France

On the French side, the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL) told Libération that it had not received any complaints regarding ChatGPT and therefore had no proceedings pending against it. However, the CNIL stressed that it had initiated discussions with its Italian counterpart to share any observations. She also expressed her intention to “clarify the legal framework for generative artificial intelligence in the coming months”.

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