Will Germany and more EU Countries Ban ChatGPT?

It turns out unlawful illegal collection of personal data at scale.

Hey Everyone,

When Italy banned ChatGPT, I think it will spread to more Countries. It’s a huge security risk for countries that have rights for their citizens around data privacy. I realize in the U.S. you don’t take such things very seriously.

At the beginning of April, 2023 it became clear that the German commissioner for data protection is mulling a ban on ChatGPT due to data security concerns. We should have a verdict soon.

Microsoft has basically invested in OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which even if it fails is an ingenious way to collect personal and sensitive data.

Italian Data Protection Authority restricted the use of OpenAI's ChatGPT in Italy in late March, 2023.

ChatGPT has both impressed researchers with its capabilities while also worrying regulators and ethicists about the negative implications for society.  But moreover it’s not being taken very seriously by Microsoft, who fired or transfered a key A.I. ethics team internally.

You can see the votes tally of a related poll here.

Germany’s Chief of Data Protection, Ulrich Kelber, has suggested that “In principle, such action is also possible in Germany” after communicating with the Italians. He also said that he was concerned about the lack of legal governance in mass data collection to “train” algorithms.

• The OPC in Canada is also looking into the Privacy concerns, including complaints made by the public.

Just like with killer drones and A.I. used in the military, the U.S. and China seem resistant to A.I. regulation that could upend their National defense and corporate strategies for global influence.

Google and Microsoft veto their A.I. ethics employees on a regular basis (including firing them and disbanding their teams), when they don’t like what they say or recommend. So Governments and BigTech seem in tandem not to want to regulate A.I. on a global level or in a significant way.

Even the six month moratorium idea was made fun of as unrealistic by our good actors who prioritize America’s role and (winning) leadership in the A.I. Supremacy arms race.

Italy banned ChatGPT, could others be next?

You can read more points of view on this here.

Let’s now go into some more details.