We first compile data on the hourly coding output of over 8,000 professional GitHub users in Italy and other European countries to analyse the impact of the ban on individual productivity. Combining the high-frequency data with the sudden announcement of the ban in a difference-in-differences framework, we find that the output of Italian developers decreased by around 50% in the first two business days after the ban and recovered after that. Applying a synthetic control approach to daily Google search and Tor usage data shows that the ban led to a significant increase in the use of censorship bypassing tools. Our findings show that users swiftly implement strategies to bypass Internet restrictions but this adaptation activity creates short-term disruptions and hampers productivity.

Italy's data protection authority has said that it's willing to lift its ChatGPT ban if OpenAI meets specific conditions. The Guarantor for the Protection of Personal Data (GPDP) announced last month that it was blocking access to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The move was part of an ongoing investigation into whether the chatbot violated Italy's data privacy laws and the EU's infamous General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GPDP was concerned that ChatGPT could recall and emit personal information, such as phone numbers and addresses, from input queries. Additionally, officials were worried that the chatbot could expose minors to inappropriate answers that could potentially be harmful.

ChatGPT bans: The Italian Data Protection Authority also says that OpenAI could be fined if it doesn't make ChatGPT follow privacy laws in Italy. OpenAI says that it has stopped giving ChatGPT to users in Italy because that country is looking into the program. But the CEO of the company, Sam Altman, tweeted, "Though we think we follow all privacy laws." We of course defer to the Italian government and have ceased offering ChatGPT in Italy (though we think we are following all privacy laws). Italy is one of my favorite countries and I look forward to visiting again soon!

To read the news, the sanctity of everything from college application essays to graduate school tests to medical licensing exams is imperiled by easy access to advanced artificial intelligence like ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that can produce remarkably clear, long-form answers to complex questions. Educators in particular worry about students turning to ChatGPT to help them complete assignments. One proposed solution is to roll back the clock to the 20th century, making students write exam essays using pen and paper, without the use of any Internet-connected electronic devices. The University of California, Los Angeles, where I teach, is considering making it an honor code violation to use ChatGPT for taking an exam or writing a paper. This semester, I am telling the students in my class at the UCLA School of Law that they are free to use ChatGPT in their writing assignments.