ChatGPT’s inception in November 2022 has led to what can only be called the AI revolution. OpenAI’s monumental AI chatbot has taken over the world by storm bringing the technology into the mainstream narrative. ChatGPT’s success has woken up tech giants like Google to experiment with AI and bring their own AI services into the market. Even Microsoft’s pioneer Bill Gates cannot stop praising ChatGPT calling it the most ‘revolutionary’ technology in the past 40 years. While one side of the spectrum has massive admiration and awe of AI, the flip side has reasonable concerns. AI becoming a part of people’s routine lives is being touted as a dangerous development by many and now, the first known instance of an official government blocking ChatGPT has come forward.
Italy temporarily bans ChatGPT
As per New York Times, Italy’s data protection authority has accused OpenAI of stealing user data. Besides this, the Italian authorities also said that ChatGPT does not feature an age-verification system to per cent minors from being exposed to illicit material. Italy has now become the first country to ban ChatGPT over privacy concerns. With this Italy is added to the list of countries where ChatGPT is restricted, OpenAI has deliberately remained inaccessible in China, Russia, and North Korea.
Sam Altman took to Twitter following the ban tweeting, “We of course defer to the Italian government and have ceased offering ChatGPT in Italy (though we think we are following all privacy laws). Italy is one of my favorite countries and I look forward to visiting again soon!”
OpenAI has been asked to block users of Italy from gaining access to ChatGPT until additional information has been turned in by the company. OpenAI now has 20 days to provide Italy’s data protection agency with additional material and possible remedies before a final decision will be drawn for the tech in the country.
So what does ChatGPT thinks about this move? A user asked ChatGPT recently whether it will be banned in Italy because of privacy concerns and the chatbot replied, “There should be no concerns…I am an artificial intelligence language model that can be accessed from anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection”