Japanese companies such as SoftBank and Hitachi have begun to limit the use of interactive artificial intelligence services such as ChatGPT in commercial operations due to concerns about information leaks and other issues.
Japanese Companies Restrict Use of ChatGPT
SoftBank warned employees last month about the use of ChatGPT and other business applications, saying, “Do not enter company-identifiable information or confidential data.” Although SoftBank has introduced guidelines for the use of cloud services such as interactive artificial intelligence, the rules continue to be repeated in light of the increased attention chatbots have received recently. SoftBank plans to create rules that dictate which businesses can use the technology and which applications can be used.
On March 1 of this year, ChatGPT developer Open AI released an application interface that allows businesses to pay to integrate ChatGPT into their services. Open AI says the data collected from ChatGPT will not be used to improve performance, but its website indicates that when the service is used for free, “we may use the data you provide to improve our models. In this case, the information being entered, such as products being developed, can be used to answer questions from other companies.”
In addition to SoftBank, Hitachi will consider new ethical rules to govern the use of interactive AI and whether data is being used correctly. The company plans to refine guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence set for 2021.
Fujitsu last month briefed employees on legal and ethical issues related to ChatGPT and other interactive AI services, including information protection. The company has established a department to determine the use of AI. in February 2022, Fujitsu established a governance office to address ethical issues in product development and commercial use that include AI. Through this office, the company will alert the public to the risks of interactive AI.
In January, ChatGPT surpassed 100 million users just two months after its launch. Microsoft’s integration of ChatGPT into Bing search last month pushed the search engine past 100 million daily users for the first time a month later. And the use of this technology in enterprise operations is expected to grow significantly as well. However, the growing use of interactive AI by people and businesses is also a concern, as the technology could spread false information and trigger data breaches, leading some companies to ban its use.
Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation have banned the use of ChatGPT and other services in their corporate operations. Mizuho’s restrictions prevent employees from accessing the site from their work terminals in order to “prevent the leakage of important information such as customer and financial transactions due to improper use by employees.” IT company NEC has also banned employees from using ChatGPT.
Atsuhiro Goto, a research professor at Japan’s Graduate School of Intelligence and Security, said, “The ease with which interactive artificial intelligence can be used on personal computers makes employees less cautious, and there is a risk that confidential data could be accidentally entered and used outside the company. These services should be tested by a dedicated internal team to clarify the rules of use and the information that can be entered.”
Panasonic Connect, a Panasonic Holdings group company, began using interactive artificial intelligence to create documents after taking steps to prevent data breaches and other problems. To reduce the risk of data breaches, the company reached an agreement with Microsoft, a co-developer of the software, not to use the content for secondary purposes such as AI training. At the same time, employees were warned not to enter personal information.
