(This article is part of Today’s Cache, The Hindu’s newsletter on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, innovation and policy. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.)
AI’s privacy push
In an attempt to address growing scrutiny over how ChatGPT and other chatbots manage users’ data to improve, or “train”, them, OpenAI is introducing what an employee called an “incognito mode” for its Chatbot. In the incognito mode, ChatGPT will not save users’ conversation or use it to improve its artificial intelligence, the company said.
While OpenAI said the new feature did not arise from Italy’s ChatGPT ban and is part of a months-long effort to put users “in the driver’s seat” regarding data collection. The move comes a month after Italy banned ChatGPT for possible privacy violations, saying OpenAI could resume the service if it met demands such as giving consumers tools to object to the processing of their data.
Nvidia looks to improve chatbots
Nvidia released a set of software tools aimed at helping chatbots from companies like Microsoft guard against unwanted responses. The software tools are also designed to help AI system creators put into place important safety measures such as ensuring that chatbots do not respond with potentially dangerous information such as how to create weapons or send users to unknown links that could contain computer viruses.
Nvidia’s software tools, provided free of charge, are designed to help companies guard against unwanted responses from chatbots with some of them being straightforward like the maker of a customer service chatbot might not want the system to mention products from its competitors.
Facebook scam profiles
Cybercriminals pretending to be Facebook technical support workers were found targeting high-profile users to steal account credentials. Scammers tricked victims by impersonating Meta’s technical team and requesting users to voluntarily share data on a phishing website or by sending their browser cookies to avoid their profiles being blocked
Potential victims will see scam posts in either their newsfeeds, notifications or when they search for the name of an individual or company whose account has been tagged. The aim of the campaign, still ongoing, is to gain access to the Facebook accounts of high-profile users and use Facebook log-in credentials to target the individual’s other social media and financial accounts.
