CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has warned its users to be cautious while sharing confidential or personal information in the chats of ChatGPT.
Chats with AI are not protected by legal confidentiality or privilege, in contrast to conversations with licensed professionals like therapists, physicians, or attorneys.
Those communications may be produced in court if a case is brought. Warning of Sam Altman comes as a growing number of users—particularly younger ones—rely on ChatGPT for relationship help, mental health support, or life direction.
He underlined that although these uses seem personal, they are not yet protected by the law under the current rules.
Altman said:
“People use it — young people, especially, use it — as a therapist, a life coach; having these relationship problems and [asking] ‘what should I do?’ And right now, if you talk to a therapist or a lawyer or a doctor about those problems, there’s legal privilege for it. There’s doctor-patient confidentiality, there’s legal confidentiality, whatever. And we haven’t figured that out yet for when you talk to ChatGPT.”
He also added that there are more common privacy issues. A court decision related to The New York Times lawsuit that ordered the sustaining of user chat histories aside from Enterprise accounts is being appealed by OpenAI.
This regulatory change may develop a precedent that impacts data rights of every single person.
Altman asked for the creation of new regulations at once as well as standards to protect confidential interactions with these platforms. He addressed the privacy and legal flaws in AI chats as a serious problem.
