OpenAI’s ChatGPT app for iPad, iPhone hits 500K downloads
OpenAI
shipped
its
ChatGPT
app
for
iPads
and
iPhones
just
a
week
ago,
but
it
has
already
become
one
of
the
most
popular
applications
in
the
last
two
years,
with
over
half
a
million
downloads
in
the
first
six
days.
OpenAI
shipped
its
ChatGPT
app
for
iPads
and
iPhones
just
a
week
ago,
but
it
has
already
become
one
of
the
most
popular
applications
in
the
last
two
years,
with
over
half
a
million
downloads
in
the
first
six
days.
That’s
a
real
achievement,
but
also
a
challenge
—
that’s
half
a
million
potential
data
vulnerabilities.
Not
to
rest
on
its
laurels,
this
year’s
favorite
smart
assistant
(so
far)
is
now
also
available
in
41
additional
nations.
There’s
little
doubt
that
this
has
been
one
of
the
most
successful
software/service
introductions
of
all
time,
but
that
doesn’t
change
the
inherent
risk
of
these
technologies.
Keep
the
red
flag
flying
The
popularity
of
the
app
should
wave
a
red
flag
for
IT
leaders,
who
must
redouble
efforts
to
warn
staff
not
to
input
valuable
personal
or
corporate
data
into
the
service.
The
danger
in
doing
so
is
that
data
gathered
by
OpenAI
has
already
been
attacked
once,
and
it’s
only
a
matter
of
time
until
someone
gets
at
that
information.
After
all,
digital
security
today
isn’t
about
if
an
incident
happens,
but
when.
To
coin
a
phrase
from
Apple’s
playbook,
the
best
way
to
protect
data
online
is
not
to
put
the
information
there
in
the
first
place.
That’s
why
iPhones
and
other
products
from
Cupertino
(via
China,
India,
and
Vietnam)
work
on
the
principle
of
data
minimization,
reducing
the
quantity
of
information
collected
and
taking
pains
to
reduce
the
need
to
send
it
to
servers
for
processing.
That’s
a
great
approach,
not
just
because
it
reduces
the
quantity
of
information
that
can
slip
out
but
because
it
also
reduces
the
opportunity
for
humans
to
make
mistakes
in
the
first
place.
The
humans
are
coming
We
don’t
have
that
protection
with
ChatGPT
apps.
Beyond
a
wholesale
ban
on
using
the
service
and
application
on
managed
devices,
IT
admins
are
almost
completely
reliant
on
trust
when
it
comes
to
ensuring
their
staff
don’t
share
confidential
data
with
the
bot.
Still,
humans
are
humans,
so
it’s
inevitable
that
—
no
matter
how
stern
the
exhortations
against
such
use
—
we
can
be
certain
some
people
will
accidentally
share
confidential
data
through
the
app.
They
may
not
even
realize
they
are
doing
it,
simply
seeing
it
as
the
equivalent
of
searching
the
web.
It’s
a
similar
threat
to
that
of
shadow
IT,
with
humans
accidentally
sharing
confidential
information
in
exchange
for
what
seems
to
be
convenience.
Private
dancer
IT
must
consider
the
App
Privacy
label
OpenAI
has
attached
to
its
product
at
the
App
Store.
That
label
makes
it
clear
that
when
using
the
app,
the
following
data
is
linked
to
the
user:
-
Contact
info
—
email,
name,
phone
number. -
User
content
—
“other”
user
content. -
Identifiers
—
User
ID. -
Usage
data
—
Product
interaction. -
Diagnostics
—
Crash,
Performance,
Other
diagnostic
data.
Available
online,
OpenAI’s
own
Privacy
Policy
should
also
be
explored,
although the
company
has
not
disclosed
the
training
data
it
uses
for
its
latest
bots.
The
challenge
here
is
that
IT
must
consider
the
limitations
of
the
latter
alongside
the
inevitability
of
human
nature.
Regulators
are
already
concerned
about
the
privacy
implications.
In
Canada,
privacy
regulators
are
investigating
the
company’s
privacy
practices,
with similar
activity
taking
place
in
Europe.
(OpenAI
seems
pretty
concerned
about
these
investigations
and
has
warned
that
it
may
or
may
not
shut
shop
in
Europe
if
the
law
is
too
rigorous.)
Purple
haze
The
deluge
of
activity
around
generative
AI
in
general,
and
ChatGPT
in
particular
,should
not
mask
the
sweeping
repercussions
of
these
technologies,
which
offer
vast
productivity
benefits,
but
threaten
job
security
at
a
mass
scale.
In
the
short
term
at
least,
IT
admins
should
do
their
utmost
to
ensure
these
consumer-simple
products
don’t
threaten
confidential
business
data.
And
for
that
to
happen,
users
must
be
warned
not
to
share
data
with
these
services
until
ratified
under
company
security
and
privacy
policy.
Please
follow
me
on Mastodon,
or
join
me
in
the AppleHolic’s
bar
&
grill and Apple Discussions groups
on
MeWe.
About Author
