Regulators around the world are scrambling to draw up rules governing the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI). (REUTERS)

OpenAI Warned by Japan’s Privacy Regulator Over User Data

Adarsh V.KJune 3, 23 AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChataGPT, Japan, machine learning

OpenAI, the Microsoft-supported startup responsible for ChatGPT chatbot, has been cautioned by Japan’s privacy regulator not to gather confidential information without individuals’ consent, according to a statement released on Friday.

The Personal Data Protection Commission said in a statement that OpenAI should reduce the amount of sensitive data it collects for machine learning, adding that it can take further action if it has further concerns.

Regulators around the world are working to set rules for the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI). It can generate text and images and compare the impact of its supporters on the Internet’s income.

While Japan has been wary of some recent technological trends, it is seen as having more incentive to keep up with advances in artificial intelligence and robotics to maintain productivity as its population shrinks.

The watchdog has cited the need to balance privacy concerns with the potential benefits of generative AI, including accelerating innovation and solving problems like climate change.

According to analytics company Likeweb, Japan is the third largest source of traffic for the OpenAI website.

In April, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to expand to Japan ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ summit, where Kishida led a discussion on AI regulation.

The European Union, a global leader in technology regulation, has established the ChatGPT Working Group and is currently working on the first set of rules governing artificial intelligence.

At the same time, the rapid proliferation of these chatbots meant that regulators had to rely on existing rules to bridge the gap.

Italian regulator Guarantee took ChatGPT offline before the company agreed to install age verification features and allow European users to block their data from being used to train the system.

Altman said last week that OpenAI had no plans to leave Europe after previously suggesting that the startup could do so if EU regulations were too difficult to comply with.