ChatGPT is banned by Italian regulators in the country

Italy is the first Western country to prohibit the advanced chatbot ChatGPT according to authorities.

The Italian data protection authorities expressed privacy concerns about the model, which was developed by the US start-up OpenAI and is supported by Microsoft.

Authorities also accused OpenAI of failing to verify the age of its ChatGPT users and of failing to enforce laws prohibiting users over the age of 13. Given their relative lack of development, these young users may be exposed to "unsuitable answers" from the chatbot, according to officials.

SEE ALSO
According to the Italian agency, the system lacks a legitimate legal foundation for gathering personal information about the people who use it. This information is gathered to aid in the training of the algorithm that powers ChatGPT's responses.

The regulator stated that it would ban and probe OpenAI "immediately." The block forces OpenAI to halt processing data from Italian users until the privacy issues are resolved, implying that the company will be forced to block users from Italy.

Italy's decision comes only days after a group of experts asked for a pause to new system development, citing concerns that the race to create new AI capabilities could be disastrous, and also a data breach last week, in which users reported being able to read the chat histories of others.

It is unclear how many app users are in Italy. Yet, it is estimated that in its first two months, it was utilized by 100 million individuals worldwide, since its inception in November 2022.

MOST POPULAR
It can respond to inquiries in natural, human-like language and emulate various writing styles, using the internet as it existed in 2021 as its database.

Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in it, and it was recently added to Bing. It has also stated that it will incorporate a version of the technology into its Office applications, which include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Concerns have been raised about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.