ChatGPT addresses SA watchdog’s concerns

OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, has told the SA Competition Commission that it makes use of user and publisher data by default, and it is the responsibility of the user or publisher to opt out of this if they choose want to. As a result, OpenAI might make use of information published on websites, contained in social media posts or typed into tools like ChatGPT to refine the model and improve its output, without the original producers of the content knowing this. Fin24 reports that three representatives of OpenAI last week provided an oral submission to the commission as part of the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry being conducted by the commission. ‘OpenAI processes users' data when they create an account and use services such as ChatGPT, and that’s just necessary for the product to be able to function,’ said Nora Puckett, associate general counsel at OpenAI. Puckett said that anyone, or any publisher that doesn’t want their content to be used to train a large language model, can simply opt out. The oral submissions to the inquiry ended last week, but the inquiry is expected to continue over the course of the year.

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