OpenAI’s Video-Making Service Under Data Privacy Scrutiny in EU

OpenAI faces further scrutiny from Italy’s data protection watchdog over concerns that the firm’s new artificial intelligence video creation system would process people’s personal data.

It’s the second time OpenAI has come to the attention of the Italian regulator, which is already investigating possible data violations by the tech company’s ChatGPT tool. 

OpenAI is now facing new pressure from the Italian regulator, which said in a statement on Friday that it’s given the firm 20 days to provide information about its new AI service, called Sora, which can quickly create videos up to a minute in length. 

This is necessary “given the possible implications that the Sora service could have on the processing of users’ personal data in the European Union and in Italy in particular,” the Italian regulator said, adding that it’s also asked whether “the new AI model is already available to the public and whether it is or will be offered to users in the European Union, particularly in Italy.”

San Francisco-based OpenAI is backed by Microsoft, which along with Alphabet’s Google has been using artificial intelligence to enhance their products. 

Last month OpenAI launched an online store where people can share customized versions of the company’s popular ChatGPT chatbot, after initially delaying the rollout because of leadership upheaval last year. The new store, which rolled out Wednesday to paid ChatGPT users, will corral the chatbots that users create for a variety of tasks, for example, a version of ChatGPT that can teach math to a child or come up with colourful cocktail recipes. The product, called the GPT Store, will include chatbots that users have chosen to share publicly. It will eventually introduce ways for people to make money from their creations — much as they might through the app stores of Apple or Alphabet’s Google.

Similar to those app stores, OpenAI’s GPT Store will let users see the most popular and trending chatbots on a leaderboard and search for them by category. In a blog post announcing the rollout, OpenAI said that people have made 3 million custom chatbots thus far, though it was not clear how many were available through its store at launch.

The store’s launch comes as OpenAI works to build out its ecosystem of services and find new sources of revenue. On Wednesday, OpenAI also announced a new paid ChatGPT tier for companies with smaller teams that starts at $25 (roughly Rs. 2,100) a month per user. OpenAI first launched a corporate version of ChatGPT with added features and privacy safeguards in August.

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