Canada announced Tuesday it has opened an investigation into the US-based software firm behind ChatGPT, the buzzy artificial intelligence chatbot.
The investigation by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner into OpenAI was opened in response to a “complaint alleging the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information without permission,” the agency said.
Launched in November, OpenAI’s chatbot uses information available online to provide detailed answers to users’ questions.
ChatGPT caused an international sensation when it was released last year for its capability to generate essays, songs, exams, and even news articles from short prompts. But analysts have long worried that it was unclear where ChatGPT and its competitors got their data or how they processed it.
We need to keep up with –- and stay ahead of -– fast-moving technological advances and that is one of my key focus areas.”
Philippe Dufresne-Canadian privacy commissioner said
With funding from tech giant Microsoft, which has already added the tool to several of its services, ChatGPT is sometimes praised as a likely competitor to Google’s search engine. The latest move by Canada’s regulator comes amid increasing calls for stepped-up scrutiny of AI-powered technology.
Last week, billionaire tycoon Elon Musk — a founder of OpenAI but no longer a member of the board — and hundreds of global experts called for a six-month pause in research on AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, the latest iteration of the software on which ChatGPT is based, mentioning “deep risks to society and humanity.”
Italy on Friday also became the first country in the Western world to block ChatGPT over concerns about data use.
The European police agency Europol recently warned that criminals are ready to take advantage of artificial intelligence like conversational bots to commit fraud and other cybercrimes.
