OpenAI is developing an incognito mode for its popular chatbot ChatGPT that does not record users’ interaction history or use it to improve its artificial intelligence. The San Francisco-based business has announced plans for a “ChatGPT Business” subscription with enhanced data restrictions.
The move comes as questions have been raised about how ChatGPT and other chatbots inspired by it manage hundreds of millions of users’ data, which is often used to improve, or “train,” AI.
Italy stopped ChatGPT last month for potential privacy violations, saying OpenAI may reinstate the service provided it addressed requests such as providing consumers with means to object to data processing. France and Spain have also begun to investigate the service.
OpenAI’s chief technical officer, Mira Murati, told Reuters that the business is in compliance with European privacy law and is striving to reassure regulators. The new incognito mode capabilities resulted from a months-long effort to put users “in the driver’s seat” when it came to data collection, she added.
“We’ll be moving more and more in this direction of prioritizing user privacy,” Murati said, with the goal that “it’s completely eyes off and the models are super aligned: they do the things that you want to do.” She claimed that user data has helped OpenAI make its algorithms more dependable and decrease political bias, among other things, but that the company still faces hurdles.
With the incognito mode release on Tuesday, users can disable “Chat History & Training” in their settings and export their data. OpenAI product executive Nicholas Turley, who compared it to an internet browser’s incognito mode, said the company would still keep discussions for 30 days to check for abuse before permanently deleting them.
Furthermore, the company’s upcoming business subscription will not use conversations for AI model training by default. Microsoft Corp, which has invested in OpenAI, already provides enterprises with ChatGPT. Murati stated that the service will be appealing to the cloud provider’s current clients.
Russia Enters AI Race with GigaChat, Potentially Challenging OpenAI’s ‘Incognito Mode’
Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, has announced the launch of GigaChat, a new AI chatbot technology aimed at competing with ChatGPT. GigaChat is still in invite-only testing mode, but it is likely to become a competitor in the AI chatbot industry soon.
The race to produce more intuitive and privacy-focused AI technology was ignited with the release of ChatGPT in 2022, which today included ‘Incognito Mode’ in its features. Sberbank’s entry into the market reflects a broader trend among Russian companies looking to reduce their dependence on foreign technology.
Interestingly, GigaChat was developed by a lending bank investing in technology to lessen Russia’s reliance on Western imports, rather than a Russian technology company. With Russia facing sanctions for its involvement in Ukraine, it is unclear how it would obtain the advanced chips required to further AI research and development. The bank has made significant investments in technology in recent years, and it expects that GigaChat will help drive innovation and change the way people work and conduct business in Russia.
As the race to develop more advanced and intuitive AI chatbots heats up, it remains to be seen how GigaChat will fare against established players like ChatGPT. One particular feature that many users may be interested in is the inclusion of an ‘Incognito Mode’ in GigaChat, similar to the one now offered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This feature allows users to chat with the AI chatbot in a more private and secure manner, without the risk of their conversations being tracked or monitored. It remains to be seen, however, if GigaChat will indeed include its own version of ‘Incognito Mode’.