Apple is among the most recent to join a growing list of companies that have placed bans on their employees that restrict the use of the artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT by OpenAI. This news comes just days after the popular chatbot went live on its App Store.
The tech giant cited privacy concerns, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, additional AI software mentioned in the ban included Microsoft's software programming assistant, Github Copilot. It would seem that the biggest concern for Apple is that employees might mishandle the tech and as a result compromise company data.
As a result of the ban, Apple joins a growing list of companies to do the same, most notably names like Verizon, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup.
While some mainstream media channels might portray this news as anti-AI, particularly in the case of Apple, that couldn't be further from the truth. For much of its existence, Apple has been a trailblazer in AI technologies, with the creation of Siri in 2011 being one of the most advanced chat systems of its time.
Apple also has AI integrated into a variety of other products, including its Apple watch for various utility features, and has in recent weeks expressed its continued pursuit of the technology.
In a recent earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that while AI has "huge" potential for the industry, "it’s very important to be deliberate and thoughtful on how you approach these things."
This call for caution has been shared by individuals, companies, and countries alike, as well as, most recently OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Last week as he met with Congress, Altman stated that "if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong," and expressed interest in working with regulators to mitigate risk.
Topics of discussion included privacy risks, ethics of the technology when used in a political setting, concerns around work displacement, regulatory framework, and more.
While Apple has not made any public comment regarding its cautious approach to the rapidly advancing technology, it may be trying not to get ahead of any developing regulation, like the White House's recently proposed AI Bill of Rights Blueprint.
In other news, Tom Hanks says he could theoretically act forever thanks to AI.
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