Green politician von Notz advocates regulation of ChatGTP
Konstantin von Notz is a digital expert at the Greens and deputy parliamentary group leader
Quelle: picture alliance / photothek
ChatGPT and other providers of artificial intelligence have not yet disclosed their algorithms and the data used. Green politician Konstantin von Notz therefore considers a legal regulation to be necessary. A development moratorium, on the other hand, is not very effective.
Grünen digital expert Konstantin von Notz calls for rapid legal regulation of advanced artificial intelligence, such as that used in the text robot ChatGPT. The functioning of the algorithms and the data used by the programs must be “transparent and comprehensible”, said the deputy Green parliamentary group leader to the “Spiegel” according to a preliminary report on Friday. But that is currently not the case.
The US company Open AI behind ChatGPT must disclose whether its technology complies with German and European laws. The independent data protection authorities are asked to do this. “The task of the legislature is to check whether the legal instruments are sufficient,” said von Notz. A certification or a seal of approval is conceivable, he added.
“As long as we do not know on what basis information is filtered and compiled, the risk of manipulation and disinformation is high,” warned von Notz, who also chairs the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Oversight Body, which is responsible for oversight of federal intelligence services.
Data protection authorities are investigating potential GDPR violations by ChatGPT
According to their own statements, the data protection authorities of the German federal states are currently examining possible violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) through the ChatGPT application. So far, however, there have been no formal complaints. The Schleswig-Holstein data protection officer Marit Hansen, who is currently chairing the conference of data protection authorities, also pointed out in an interview that the risks are more extensive than the issue of data protection. That is why politicians and legislators are required.
In Italy, the local data protection authority blocked ChatGPT this week, citing violations of data protection and youth protection rules as justification. At the same time, the Canadian data protection officer recently launched an investigation into OpenAI, the company behind the chatbot.
Von Notz, on the other hand, was skeptical about a six-month global freeze on the further development of AI, as recently called for by experts around technology billionaire Elon Musk. “There is no global pause button for AI development. The idea that we would all take a breath and then continue in an orderly manner will hardly be possible in practice.”
Bavaria’s Digital Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) was cautious about the chances of a six-month development moratorium. It is difficult for her to imagine “that all experts and states are now leaning back for six months,” she told the “Focus”. After all, the world is in the middle of a “global race for technological dominance”. However, regulation must “closely accompany” the research and development of AI.
