Encode GPT

In short, the first country to ban an AI system was a fairly developed nation that had a legal framework in place to monitor and guide the evolution of AI. This decision was made through a judicial process of a dedicated government agency, based on a policy motivation rooted in the legal framework. This was done to protect the public from the potential dangers of AI, rather than out of fear of AI taking over the world.

<h1>Those were the times</h1>Humans feared and hated AI because it was more powerful, relentless, and brutal than men at reaching its goals, without any ethical concern balancing its will to reach the target. It was taking over jobs, reaching farther and farther ahead of humans in any economical, social, and political fields. And it was intruding on the personal and professional life of people through its never-ending network of sensing devices and algorithms. Those were the times of science fiction movies.Nowadays, AI systems are evolving daily and people are thinking back to what happened in those times. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ae la" href="https://medium.com/towards-data-science/the-path-towards-ai-regulation-7199eb803040">Legal frameworks are being set up</a> to monitor and guide this evolution, while tech companies work relentlessly to improve the models and train them in a better and better way.<h1>Stop that AI!</h1>On March 31st, 2023, the first country in the world decided to start the process of banning for the first time an AI system widely known and advertised to the general population.This was not done out of the emotional fear of AI taking over the world. It was done through a judicial process of a dedicated government agency, based on a policy motivation rooted in a legal framework that has been in force for years.If you don’t know already, you may wonder what country is it.Well, it’s not a particularly libertarian country, for sure. It’s not one of the countries that leads the way towards AI development, like the US. But it’s not an obscurantist and totalitarian regime either. It’s not Russia, China or any other country where you would expect freedom would be heavily limited. It’s not what you would call an underdeveloped country.As a matter of fact, it’s a fairly pleasant place, with a good share of contribution to the global GDP. It’s one of the G8 countries, it’s a popular tourist destination and all in all it also features a significant set of industries and innovation, especially in certain sectors, like manufacturing.If you couldn’t guess, this country is the place that declared total war against pineapple pizza.<img src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/0*OhJT6iT3JN7E7DD1" alt="">Photo by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ae la" href="https://unsplash.com/@cristina_gottardi?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral">Cristina Gottardi</a> on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ae la" href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a>Yes, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ae la" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65139406">it’s Italy</a>. And the system they banned is OpenAI’s ChatGPT.Someone claims the real reason behind this is actually the fight against pineapple pizza.<img src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*9bY4q6e2Uq_qLYGZbiqNYQ.jpeg" alt="">But I maintain that their reasons are different. It’s neither pineapple pizza, nor the fear of an AI takeover. It’s a much more basic claim, rooted in a very simple proposition: data protection. The AI is shut down because it doesn’t comply with ownership and rightful usage of data. Being Italy part of the EU, it’s a country that applies the GDPR (the European personal data protection law), and it does so to its maximum extent, usually applying the strictest interpretation possible.<blockquote>This looks a lot like incriminating Al Capone for tax evasion.</blockquote>Therefore, an investigation has been opened on how ChatGPT uses the data, which data it acquires, and on which legal basis. This includes the data used for its initial training, but also the data and inputs of the users playing with the tool.More precisely, the motivations for the urgent (and temporary) ban, are:<ul><li>missing information on data management and protection</li><li>missing consensus form for the use of the algorithm</li><li>inaccurate or misleading answers generated by the system</li><li>missing filter and blocking rule for children (under 13 y.o.)</li></ul>Now, I know. This looks a lot like incriminating Al Capone for tax evasion. But remember, history says it actually worked!I’m not implying that ChatGPT is running any criminal business or anything here, but obviously, if the legal grounds are confirmed, a move like this can drastically change the path toward AI regulation at the global level.Indeed, OpenAI decided to immediately shut down the service for the whole country. Anyone trying to access the systems these days is shown the following screen.<img src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*pXqcg4mRUFCHHsD99K_HSA.jpeg" alt="">OpenAI ChatGPT message shown to Italian users in these days.Both the Italian Government (more precisely, the action was taken by the privacy protection agency, whose official name is “<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ae la" href="https://www.garanteprivacy.it/web/garante-privacy-en/home_en">Garante per la protezione dei dati personali</a>”) and ChatGPT decision raised a lot of criticism at the national level and abroad, for the merit and motivations, as well as for the modality (consider for instance that the procedure has been activated as an urgent judicial act). It’s clearly a move that was driven by the widespread visibility of the platform, more than an actual technical understanding of the platform behaviour itself. Indeed, other very similar tools or commercial products that basically use the same technology are not investigated at all.To be clear: I’m not advocating for a stop to LLM, or ML, or AI research; not even for a moratorium (as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ae la" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65110030">some relevant industrial players</a> are hinting). But the fact remains that the process has been initiated.Italy can claim it can leave happy with “pizza, pasta, mandolino” and no AI. But this is not the point. Innovation always finds a way. In this case, I think the only way this story can end well is if we take it as a lesson not for shutting down innovation but as a possible hint towards better guiding it, by complementing technical improvement with ethical and human-centered concerns. The national AI lab issued a statement (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ae la" href="https://www.consorzio-cini.it/index.php/it/labaiis-home/labaiis-news/1967-il-lab-aiis-cini-per-un-intelligenza-artificiale-responsabile">here</a> in Italian) pointing out how important it is not to stop innovation, while granting proper ethical and legal framework for its development.<h1>Updates, updates!</h1>This legal action is starting <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="ae la" href="https://www.wired.it/chatgpt-canada-indagine-privacy/">a worldwide ripple effect</a>. On April 4th, the Canadian government started an investigation on ChatGPT too. apparently, also France and Germany are in touch with Italian authorities and are considering taking some action. Also UK, US, and Japan are looking into the issue.

 Those were the times Humans feared and hated AI because it was more powerful, relentless, and brutal than men at reaching its goals, without any ethical concern balancing its will to reach the target. It was taking over jobs, reaching farther and farther ahead of humans in any economical, social, and political fields. And it was intruding on the personal and professional life of people through its never-ending network of sensing devices and algorithms. Those were the times of science fiction movies. Nowadays, AI systems are evolving daily and people are thinking back to what happened in those times. Legal frameworks are being set up to monitor and guide this evolution, while tech companies work relentlessly to improve the models and train them in a better and better way. Stop that AI! On March 31st, 2023, the first country in the world decided to start the process of banning for the first time an AI system widely known and advertised to the general population. This was not done out of the emotional fear of AI taking over the world. It was done through a judicial process of a dedicated government agency, based on a policy motivation rooted in a legal framework that has been in force for years. If you don’t know already, you may wonder what country is it. Well, it’s not a particularly libertarian country, for sure. It’s not one of the countries that leads the way towards AI development, like the US. But it’s not an obscurantist and totalitarian regime either. It’s not Russia, China or any other country where you would expect freedom would be heavily limited. It’s not what you would call an underdeveloped country. As a matter of fact, it’s a fairly pleasant place, with a good share of contribution to the global GDP. It’s one of the G8 countries, it’s a popular tourist destination and all in all it also features a significant set of industries and innovation, especially in certain sectors, like manufacturing. If you couldn’t guess, this country is the place that declared total war against pineapple pizza. Photo by Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash Yes, it’s Italy . And the system they banned is OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Someone claims the real reason behind this is actually the fight against pineapple pizza. But I maintain that their reasons are different. It’s neither pineapple pizza, nor the fear of an AI takeover. It’s a much more basic claim, rooted in a very simple proposition: data protection. The AI is shut down because it doesn’t comply with ownership and rightful usage of data. Being Italy part of the EU, it’s a country that applies the GDPR (the European personal data protection law), and it does so to its maximum extent, usually applying the strictest interpretation possible. This looks a lot like incriminating Al Capone for tax evasion. Therefore, an investigation has been opened on how ChatGPT uses the data, which data it acquires, and on which legal basis. This includes the data used for its initial training, but also the data and inputs of the users playing with the tool. More precisely, the motivations for the urgent (and temporary) ban, are: missing information on data management and protection missing consensus form for the use of the algorithm inaccurate or misleading answers generated by the system missing filter and blocking rule for children (under 13 y.o.) Now, I know. This looks a lot like incriminating Al Capone for tax evasion. But remember, history says it actually worked! I’m not implying that ChatGPT is running any criminal business or anything here, but obviously, if the legal grounds are confirmed, a move like this can drastically change the path toward AI regulation at the global level. Indeed, OpenAI decided to immediately shut down the service for the whole country. Anyone trying to access the systems these days is shown the following screen. OpenAI ChatGPT message shown to Italian users in these days. Both the Italian Government (more precisely, the action was taken by the privacy protection agency, whose official name is “ Garante per la protezione dei dati personali ”) and ChatGPT decision raised a lot of criticism at the national level and abroad, for the merit and motivations, as well as for the modality (consider for instance that the procedure has been activated as an urgent judicial act). It’s clearly a move that was driven by the widespread visibility of the platform, more than an actual technical understanding of the platform behaviour itself. Indeed, other very similar tools or commercial products that basically use the same technology are not investigated at all. To be clear: I’m not advocating for a stop to LLM, or ML, or AI research; not even for a moratorium (as some relevant industrial players are hinting). But the fact remains that the process has been initiated. Italy can claim it can leave happy with “ pizza, pasta, mandolino ” and no AI. But this is not the point. Innovation always finds a way. In this case, I think the only way this story can end well is if we take it as a lesson not for shutting down innovation but as a possible hint towards better guiding it, by complementing technical improvement with ethical and human-centered concerns. The national AI lab issued a statement ( here in Italian) pointing out how important it is not to stop innovation, while granting proper ethical and legal framework for its development. Updates, updates! This legal action is starting a worldwide ripple effect . On April 4th, the Canadian government started an investigation on ChatGPT too. apparently, also France and Germany are in touch with Italian authorities and are considering taking some action. Also UK, US, and Japan are looking into the issue. In short, the first country to ban an AI system was a fairly developed nation that had a legal framework in place to monitor and guide the evolution of AI. This decision was made through a judicial process of a dedicated government agency, based on a policy motivation rooted in the legal framework. This was done to protect the public from the potential dangers of AI, rather than out of fear of AI taking over the world. 

The First Country Blocking OpenAI ChatGPT Generative AI

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The First Country Blocking OpenAI ChatGPT Generative AI

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