ChatGPT launched on iOS this week. | Image: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images Apple has restricted employees from using AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT over fears confidential information entered into

A picture of ChatGPT’s iOS app on the App Store.
ChatGPT launched on iOS this week. | Image: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Apple has restricted employees from using AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT over fears confidential information entered into these systems will be leaked or collected.

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple employees have also been warned against using GitHub’s AI programming assistant Copilot. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman tweeted that ChatGPT had been on Apple’s list of restricted software “for months.”

Apple has good reason to be wary. By default, OpenAI stores all interactions between users and ChatGPT. These conversations are collected to train OpenAI’s systems and can be inspected by moderators for breaking the company’s terms and services.

In April, OpenAI launched a feature that lets users turn off chat history (coincidentally, not long after various EU nations began investigating the tool for potential privacy violations), but even with this setting enabled, OpenAI still retains conversations for 30 days with the option to review them “for abuse” before deleting them permanently.

Given the utility of ChatGPT for tasks like improving code and brainstorming ideas, Apple may be rightly worried its employees will enter information on confidential projects into the system. This information might then be seen by one of OpenAI’s moderators. Research shows it’s also possible to extract training data from some language models using its chat interface, though there’s no evidence that ChatGPT itself is vulnerable to such attacks.

Apple is far from the only company instituting such a ban. Others include JP Morgan, Verizon, and Amazon.

Apple’s ban, though, is notable given OpenAI launched an iOS app for ChatGPT this week. The app is free to use, supports voice input, and is available in the US. OpenAI says it will be launching the app in other countries soon, along with an Android version.


You may also be interested in this

Despite Q1 & Q2 relea…

Apple is predicted to have a drop in revenue year-over-year for Q2 2023, according to TD Cowen, with results forecast to show declines in iPhone, iPad, and Mac for the

Apple looks into adding ‘…

A patent filing shows Apple is exploring the possibility of building support for the Find My device locating system into Apple Pencil. (via Cult of Mac - Tech and culture

AirTags used to uncover f…

AirTags and Find My have revealed how items donated by Mexicans for earthquake relief in Turkey were instead resold in Mexico City markets.An AirTag on a keyringIn February, Apple's AirTags

TikTok users take legal a…

Just days after the state of Montana signed a TikTok ban into law, a group of the platform's users has sued the state, saying it violates their free speech rights.TikTok

Amazon’s MacBook sale wil…

Macworld If you’re looking for a new MacBook, Apple’s lineup is as strong as its ever been, with brand-new MacBook Pros, a redesigned MacBook Air, and speed Apple silicon in

HomeKit Weekly: It’s time…

When you strip away home automation to its essence, it’s about taking something you normally would buy manually and automating it. That might be turning on based on motion, time

Paris prosecutor’s office…

The Paris prosecutor’s office announced on Monday that it is investigating Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, following a complaint. Politico reported earlier that day that Apple is allegedly using users’ recordings

Tim Cook: Apple Vision Pr…

Speaking on "Good Morning America," Apple CEO Tim Cook has acknowledged that Apple Vision Pro will be too expensive for many, but says the cost is because of the "mind-blowing"
X

A whimsical homage to the days in black and white, celebrating the magic of Mac OS. Dress up your blog with retro, chunky-grade pixellated graphics to evoke some serious computer nostalgia. Supports a custom menu, custom header image, custom background, two footer widget areas, and a full-width page template. I updated Stuart Brown's 2011 masterpiece to meet the needs of the times, made it responsive , got dark mode, custom search widget and more.You can download it from tigaman.com, where you can also find more useful code snippets and plugins to get even more out of wordpress.