While there is no doubt that AI applications have made many popular strides in the past few months following the integration of large language models like GPT, there have been some setbacks by those wary of the technology’s potential negative effects. We also saw some failures. Germany and Italy are considering banning the use of ChatGPT in their respective countries, the Australian mayor is considering a defamation lawsuit, and many influential figures are asking AI Labs to build next-generation models. I am petitioning to suspend the training of
Despite the very clear opposing stances put forward by the above entities, Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) Helen Dixon is in fact against banning GPT and similar technologies immediately. . Data regulators emphasize:
It needs to be regulated and figuring out how to regulate it properly. The Irish Data Protection Commission is trying to understand a little more about the technology, large language models and sources of training data.
So, I think we’re just getting started, but now is the time to have that kind of conversation instead of plunging into prohibitions that never really stand up.
While not in favor of an outright ban on generative AI technologies and applications, Dixon believes some issues in this area need to be addressed. This includes data privacy, copyright, and defamation (especially if AI starts hallucinating).
Overall, the Irish approach shows more maturity than the measured responses regarding this area. However, it remains to be seen how national regulators will conduct these assessments related to the benefits and risks of generative AI.
Source: Reuters | Image via Sanket Mishra
