Data regulator warns against rushing into chatbot bans

ChatGPT needs to be regulated and it’s about figuring out how to regulate it properly, the Data Protection Commission has said. Picture: AP Photo/Peter Morgan

Generative AI, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, needs to be regulated, but governing bodies must figure out how to do so properly before rushing into prohibitions that “really aren’t going to stand up”, Ireland’s data protection chief said.

“It needs to be regulated and it’s about figuring out how to regulate it properly,” Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) Helen Dixon told a conference hosted by Bloomberg in Wicklow on Thursday, saying the debate extended to thousands of ChatGPT equivalents.

“For the Irish data protection commission, where we are at is trying to understand a little bit more about the technology, about the large language models, about where the training data is sourced.”

“So I think it’s early days, but it’s time to be having those conversations now rather than rushing into prohibitions that really aren’t going to stand up.”

The body that unites Europe’s national privacy watchdogs last week set up a task force on ChatGPT following a unilateral move by Italy to temporarily ban the chatbot which is rapidly growing in popularity.

Italy’s watchdog said on Tuesday that it is ready to allow the return of ChatGPT at the end of April if its maker OpenAI takes “useful steps” to address the agency’s concerns. Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI took it offline in Italy last month.

While the Irish DPC is the EU’s lead regulator of many of the world’s largest technology companies due to the location of their EU headquarters in Ireland, it does not hold the same power over OpenAI which has no offices in the bloc.

Dixon added that the issues around Generative AI span far beyond data protection and include copyright and defamation concerns.

“We also want to contribute to broader discussions about the risks and about other areas of law that converge in AI,” she said.

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT are complicating governments’ efforts to agree on laws governing the use of the technology.

Summit on AI systems

Across the EU, 12 lawmakers urged world leaders to hold a summit to find ways to control the development of advanced AI systems, saying they were developing faster than expected.

The European Data Protection Board, which unites Europe’s national privacy watchdogs, said it had set up a task force on ChatGPT, a potentially important first step towards a common policy on setting privacy rules on AI.

EU lawmakers are discussing the introduction of the European Union AI Act that will govern anyone who provides a product or a service that uses AI. Lawmakers propose classifying different AI tools according to their perceived level of risk, from low to unacceptable.

The UK Government said last month, it planned to split responsibility for governing AI between its regulators for human rights, health and safety, and competition, rather than creating a new body. 

In the wake of Italy’s initial ban, France’s privacy watchdog CNIL said it was investigating several complaints about ChatGPT.

In the US, the Biden administration said it was seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for AI systems.

US President Joe Biden had earlier told science and technology advisers that AI could help address disease and climate change, but it was also important to address potential risks to society, national security, and the economy.

Reuters