This restriction is applicable only to the employees of the mobile and equipment department. (Representative)
Seoul, South Korea:
Samsung Electronics is banning employees at its mobiles and devices division from using generative AI services like ChatGPT, following instances of “misuse” of the technology, the company said on Tuesday.
Interest in artificial intelligence chatbots has increased since the introduction of the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT in November.
ChatGPT created a global sensation for creating essays, songs, exams and even news articles from short prompts. Critics have raised concerns about how ChatGPT and its competitors collect and process data.
Major financial firms including Goldman Sachs have banned or restricted the use of platforms such as ChatGPT by employees in recent months.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s biggest makers of memory chips and smartphones, has now joined that list.
A Samsung representative told AFP that the ban applied to employees of the Mobiles and Devices department.
An internal memo obtained by AFP said Samsung is “working to find ways to use generative AI services in a security safe environment for employees to enhance work efficiency and convenience”.
“… until these measures are devised, we are temporarily banning the use of generative AI services for company-owned computers,” it said.
The memo from the Suwon-based firm advises employees to avoid uploading work-related information to such platforms while logging on to personal computers outside company premises.
It said there had been “instances of misuse” of features like ChatGPT by Samsung employees, without giving details.
According to the memo, more than 60 percent of Samsung employees said in an internal survey that there were security risks from using the generative AI platform with the company’s devices.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)