Italy is taking steps to protect user data by temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT as it investigates possible violations of European Union data protection rules. The U.S.-based OpenAI, which developed the chatbot, has disabled ChatGPT for Italian users at the government’s request and believes its practices comply with European privacy laws. Italy’s privacy watchdog is questioning whether OpenAI has legal justification for its “massive collection and processing of personal data” used to train the platform’s algorithms and if there is a system to verify users’ ages. Scientists and tech industry leaders have called for companies such as OpenAI to pause the development of more powerful AI models until the fall to give time for society to weigh the risks. European consumer group BEUC has called for EU authorities and member nations to investigate ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots.
Key Points:
- Italy is blocking ChatGPT as it investigates possible violations of European Union data protection rules.
- OpenAI has disabled ChatGPT for Italian users at the government’s request.
- The Italian Data Protection Authority is questioning whether OpenAI has legal justification for its “massive collection and processing of personal data”.
- Scientists and tech industry leaders have called for a pause in the development of more powerful AI models.
- European consumer group BEUC has called for EU authorities and member nations to investigate ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots.
