Italy, last week, temporarily banned the ChatGPT and launched a probe over the artificial intelligence application’s suspected breach of privacy rules. There is a meeting scheduled for this evening to discuss the matter. Germany, France, and Ireland are also considering a ban, and the UK has expressed concerns.
And more broadly, let’s quote the Verge: The 2023 AI Index — compiled by researchers from Stanford University as well as AI companies including Google, Anthropic, and Hugging Face — suggests that the world of AI is entering a new phase of development. Over the past year, a large number of AI tools have gone mainstream, from chatbots like ChatGPT to image-generating software like Midjourney. But decisions about how to deploy this technology and how to balance risk and opportunity lie firmly in the hands of corporate players. The AI Index states that, for many years, academia led the way in developing state-of-the-art AI systems, but industry has now firmly taken over.
Why do we care?
I hadn’t covered the talk of the AI pause from the open letter last week – and if you missed that story, you didn’t miss anything. These two threads we care about.
The Europeans really do lead on regulation, so keep an eye on the other side of the ocean for guidance. Big tech companies are not going to deploy twice.
The service impact of AI moving into corporate hands is the onslaught of products and services that will be rolling out. Assuming the hype plays out – and so far, it’s promising – there is a coming wave of consulting and implementation opportunities fraught with ethical and legal considerations. That’s usually a bonanza.