The Canadian government has opened an investigation into the company behind ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada stated that the investigation was launched after it received a complaint. The complaint alleges that OpenAI collects personal information without the user's consent.
“AI technology and its effects on privacy is a priority for my Office,” Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne says. “We need to keep up with — and stay ahead of — fast-moving technological advances, and that is one of my key focus areas as Commissioner.”
OpenAi has not publicly commented on the investigation. However, when a user asks ChatGPT whether it collects personal information, the chatbot says it only collects information provided by the user.
Musk, tech leaders call for pause on 'out-of-control' AI race
In an open letter, industry leaders say AI systems are becoming "human-competitive" and recommend more focus on safety and regulation.
"I do log certain data such as the text inputs and outputs of the conversation, but these logs are not linked to any personally identifiable information," ChatGPT said.
However, the chatbot warns about data collected from third-party apps that host ChatGPT.
"It's important to note that if you are interacting with me through a third-party platform or service, such as a chatbot hosted on a website or a voice assistant device, that platform may collect personal information such as your IP address or device information," ChatGPT stated.
Canada is not the only nation to express privacy concerns with ChatGPT; Italy blocked the chatbot following a reported data breach.
In the U.S., President Joe Biden met with experts to address potential concerns about artificial intelligence. He called for built-in protections to protect users.
Microsoft makes reductions in ethics AI team amid ChatGPT work
Microsoft says it hasn't "de-invested" in its ethics team as it pursues its ChatGPT AI project. Reports pointed to layoffs in that area.
