OpenAI, the creator of the highly popular artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, is under investigation for a potential violation of the European Union’s (EU) data protection regulations, it has emerged.
The investigation, launched by Poland’s Personal Data Protection Office (UODO), surrounds claims that ChatGPT stands in violation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). OpenAI, which has pulled in an eye-watering billion-dollar investment from Microsoft since its launch, has already been taken to court on similar charges in the US. The UODO’s President Jan Nowak says the chatbot, boasting over 100 million monthly active users globally, will be required to “answer a number of questions” related to potential privacy violations.
“The case concerns the violation of many provisions on the protection of personal data, so we will ask Open AI to answer a number of questions,” says Nowak. The action against the OpenAI was initiated following a complaint from an anonymous user that accused the chatbot of failing to correct false information the application had generated about them. The complaint further stated that ChatGPT prevaricated questions about the kind of personal data its parent company processes, dodging the query with misleading and obscure responses. The complaint accused the ChatGPT-maker of processing user data in “an unlawful and unreliable manner”.
ChatGPT, which was launched in October 2022, took the world by storm with its exceptional ability to produce prolific text and unprecedented human-like responses. The chatbot turned a sensation in the world of tech overnight and attracted millions of users from around the world. Besides being abundantly used by students, authors and businesses, the application was deployed in major newsrooms to ascertain whether it could replace professional writers. Despite accuracy and precision in its responses, ChatGPT raised concerns when factual fallacies and other forms of errors started to get noticed.
ChatGPT continues to attract a large number of users, however. Since its explosive launch, OpenAI has rolled out a premium version called ChatGPT Plus and birthed a number of rivals, including Bard from the search engine giant, Google. With advanced generative AI tools taking over the tech sphere, regulatory scrutiny has also mounted on leading tech firms with regards to protection of personal data and user privacy. The applications have also elevated an intense debate surrounding the unauthorised use of previously copyrighted material.
Several renowned authors — including Margaret Atwood of The Handmaid’s Tale and George RR Martin of A Song of Ice and Fire series — have united against ChatGPT in court to prevent “theft” of their copyrighted creative works. In response to the lawsuit, OpenAI said the firm is having “productive conversations” with creators to understand and discuss their concerns related to artificial intelligence (AI). “We’re optimistic we will continue to find mutually beneficial ways to work together to help people utilize new technology in a rich content ecosystem.”
