Apple is following Amazon and Samsung in blocking employees from using ChatGPT over concerns the AI program will be fed confidential data from the company.
Apple is restricting ChatGPT and other AI tool use among some employees, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing an internal document about the new policy.
Ironically, the news comes as OpenAI released an official ChatGPT app for iOS, which will help the chatbot program gain even more exposure from the public. However, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says Apple banned ChatGPT months ago.
It’s no secret that ChatGPT can collect your text inputs—whether it be questions, entire essays, or even computer code—to help train itself. OpenAI’s own support document notes: “When you share your data with us, it helps our models become more accurate and better at solving your specific problems and it also helps improve their general capabilities and safety.”
So it’s possible any information you submit to ChatGPT could get recycled to help answer another user’s query. Hence, we advise against using the program for any sensitive work-related projects. Samsung warned employees that using ChatGPT at work could get them fired after employees used it to troubleshoot proprietary code and summarize internal meeting notes.
OpenAI is aware of the corporate concerns. It’s why the San Francisco-based company is working on a new ChatGPT Business subscription plan, which by default won’t use any collected user information to the train the AI program. OpenAI plans on releasing the new subscription tier in the coming months. For now, users have to manually turn off ChatGPT chat history to stop the company from using their queries to improve the program.
While ChatGPT is the top AI chatbot, all the major tech companies have indicated they’re working on their own rival programs. In Apple’s case, the company plans on taking a more cautious approach in developing the technology amid concerns AI chatbots could also be abused to spread misinformation and take jobs away from humans.
“I do think it’s very important to be deliberate and thoughtful in how you approach these things, and there are a number of issues that need to be sorted,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earnings call earlier this month.