Anecdotal examples of people using ChatGPT to help with
their day-to-day work including drafting emails, summarising documents, and
doing preliminary research.
Some 28 percent of respondents to the online poll on
artificial intelligence (AI) between July 11 and 17 said they regularly use
ChatGPT at work, while only 22 percent said their employers explicitly allowed
such external tools.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll of 2,625 adults across the United
States had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 2
percentage points.
Some 10 percent of those polled said their bosses explicitly
banned external AI tools, while about 25 percent did not know if their company
permitted the use of the technology.
ChatGPT became the fastest-growing app in history after its
launch in November. It has created both excitement and alarm, bringing its
developer OpenAI into conflict with regulators, particularly in Europe, where
the company's mass data-collecting has drawn criticism from privacy watchdogs.
Human reviewers from other companies may read any of the
generated chats, and researchers found that similar artificial intelligence AI
could reproduce data it absorbed during training, creating a potential risk for
proprietary information.
"People do not understand how the data is used when
they use generative AI services," said Ben King, VP of customer trust at
corporate security firm Okta.
"For businesses, this is critical, because users don't
have a contract with many AIs - because they are a free service - so corporates
won't have to run the risk through their usual assessment process," King
said.
OpenAI declined to comment when asked about the implications
of individual employees using ChatGPT but highlighted a recent company blog
post assuring corporate partners that their data would not be used to train the
chatbot further unless they gave explicit permission.
When people use Google's Bard it collects data such as text,
location, and other usage information. The company allows users to delete past
activity from their accounts and request that content fed into the AI be
removed. Alphabet-owned Google declined to comment when asked for further
detail.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
'HARMLESS TASKS'
A US-based employee of Tinder said workers at the dating app
used ChatGPT for "harmless tasks" like writing emails even though the
company does not officially allow it.
"It's regular emails. Very non-consequential, like
making funny calendar invites for team events, farewell emails when someone is
leaving ... We also use it for general research," said the employee, who
declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak with reporters.
The employee said Tinder has a "no ChatGPT rule"
but that employees still use it in a "generic way that doesn't reveal
anything about us being at Tinder".
Reuters was not able independently confirm how employees at
Tinder were using ChatGPT. Tinder said it provided "regular guidance to
employees on best security and data practices".
In May, Samsung Electronics banned staff globally from using
ChatGPT and similar AI tools after discovering an employee had uploaded
sensitive code to the platform.
"We are reviewing measures to create a secure
environment for generative AI usage that enhances employees' productivity and
efficiency," Samsung said in a statement on August 3.
"However, until these measures are ready, we are
temporarily restricting the use of generative AI through company devices."
Reuters reported in June that Alphabet had cautioned
employees about how they use chatbots including Google's Bard, at the same time
as it markets the program globally.
Google said although Bard can make undesired code
suggestions, it helps programmers. It also said it aimed to be transparent
about the limitations of its technology.
BLANKET BANS
Some companies told Reuters they are embracing ChatGPT and
similar platforms while keeping security in mind.
"We've started testing and learning about how AI can
enhance operational effectiveness," said a Coca-Cola spokesperson in
Atlanta, Georgia, adding that data stays within its firewall.
"Internally, we recently launched our enterprise
version of Coca-Cola ChatGPT for productivity," the spokesperson said,
adding that Coca-Cola plans to use AI to improve the effectiveness and
productivity of its teams.
Tate & Lyle Chief Financial Officer Dawn Allen,
meanwhile, told Reuters that the global ingredients maker was trialing ChatGPT,
having "found a way to use it in a safe way".
"We've got different teams deciding how they want to
use it through a series of experiments. Should we use it in investor relations?
Should we use it in knowledge management? How can we use it to carry out tasks
more efficiently?"
Some employees say they cannot access the platform on their
company computers at all.
"It's completely banned on the office network like it
doesn't work," said a Procter & Gamble employee, who wished to remain
anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
P&G declined to comment. Reuters was not able
independently to confirm whether employees at P&G were unable to use
ChatGPT.
Paul Lewis, chief information security officer at cyber
security firm Nominet, said firms were right to be wary.
"Everybody gets the benefit of that increased
capability, but the information isn't completely secure and it can be
engineered out," he said, citing "malicious prompts" that can be
used to get AI chatbots to disclose information.
"A blanket ban isn't warranted yet, but we need to
tread carefully," Lewis said. ©
Thomson Reuters