Italy effectively banned the artificial intelligence (AI) bot ChatGPT after accusing the makers of the OpenAI software of “illegal collection of personal data”.
The country’s national data protection regulator has ordered OpenAI, backed by tech giant Microsoft, to immediately stop collecting data from Italian users until it changes its data collection practices.
Despite the ban in Italy, the UK government has no current plans to ban ChatGPT or any other AI platform.
Government sources said I that while ministers are working on a regime to regulate the growth of AI, there was “no question in Whitehall of banning ChatGPT or any other AI service.”
ChatGPT is already blocked in a number of countries, including China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
The Italian data protection agency claims that ChatGPT has no legal basis for collecting users’ personal data.
The agency added that OpenAI also lacks a mechanism to prevent underage users from accessing the service, which “exposes underage people to responses that are highly inappropriate compared to their level of development and self-awareness.”
In February, the Italian data watchdog also banned San Francisco-based Replica, an artificial intelligence software that has become infamous for its erotic role-playing games.
While ChatGPT is currently still available in Italy and users use a virtual private network, Italian authorities have given OpenAI 20 days to completely stop processing user data in the country.
After that period, OpenAI will have to show the regulator what steps it has taken to comply with its requirements and face a fine of up to 20 million euros (£17.8 million) if it fails to prove it is complying with the verdict.
Professor Michael Osborne, professor of machine learning at the University of Oxford, told i: “Italian action shows that regulators are paying close attention to ChatGPT.
“Of course, ChatGPT must comply with existing data regulation rules. The key question is, will new regulations follow to address new threats such as turbo propaganda, medical misinformation, and loss of automation revenue that ChatGPT can cause?”
Earlier this week, the newly created UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology laid out five principles that regulators should follow “to best promote the safe and innovative use of AI in the sectors they oversee.”
Principles to ensure that AI applications must operate in a safe, secure and sustainable manner with careful risk management, that organizations developing and deploying AI must do so openly and transparently, and that AI must comply with applicable UK laws, including Equality Acat and/ or the UK General Data Protection Regulation.
The Principles also aim to take steps to ensure that there is adequate oversight of how AI is being used and that users have a clear means to challenge any harmful results or decisions generated by AI.
At the time of publication, OpenAI had not yet commented on Italy’s ban.
Source: I News
With a background in journalism and a passion for technology, I am an experienced writer and editor. As an author at 24 News Reporter, I specialize in writing about the latest news and developments within the tech industry. My work has been featured on various publications including Wired Magazine and Engadget.