Italian regulator draws criticism for blocking AI chatbot ChatGPT

Italy’s ban on conversational artificial intelligence (AI) ChatGPT sparked major controversy among the tech industry as well as in the country. The Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini expressed criticism that the block over privacy concerns seemed excessive. 

On Friday, following concerns raised by the national data agency about possible privacy violations and failure to verify the age of users, Microsoft-backed OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy. This action by the independent agency marked the first instance of a Western country taking measures against a chatbot that operates on artificial intelligence.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister took to Instagram to share his thoughts: “I find the decision of the Privacy Watchdog that forced #ChatGPT to prevent access from Italy disproportionate,” says a translated version of his post.

Salvini expressed that the regulator’s move was hypocritical as there are dozens of services based on artificial intelligence and named examples like Bing’s chat. Salvini said that common sense was needed as “privacy issues concern practically all online services.”

The ChatGPT ban could harm national business and innovation, Salvini said, adding that he hoped for a rapid solution to be found and for the chatbot’s access to Italy to be restored.

“Every technological revolution brings great changes, risks, and opportunities. It is right to control and regulate through international cooperation between regulators and legislators, but it cannot be blocked,” he said.

Another objection to the ban was heard from Ron Moscona, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney in its London office and an expert in technology and data privacy. He said the ban by the Italian regulators comes as a surprise as it is unusual to ban a service because of a data breach incident completely.

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Following the request from the authorities, OpenAI has blocked ChatGPT for users in Italy. However, the company stated that it adheres to privacy regulations in Europe and is willing to cooperate with Italy’s privacy regulatory body. OpenAI claimed that it takes measures to minimize personal data when training its AI systems, including ChatGPT, as its goal is for the AI to acquire knowledge about the world and not to obtain information about specific individuals.

The AI chatbot is not only encountering difficulties in Italy but is also under scrutiny in other regions worldwide. The Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy (CAIDP) lodged a complaint against ChatGPT on March 31 with the aim of preventing the deployment of potent AI systems to the general public. The CAIDP characterized the chatbot as a “partial” and “misleading” platform that jeopardizes public safety and confidentiality.

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