Italy's privacy watchdog has temporarily banned ChatGPT, after raising concerns about a recent data breach and the legal basis for using personal data to train the popular chatbot. The Italian Data Protection Authority described the move as a provisional measure "until ChatGPT respects privacy". The watchdog said it was imposing an "immediate temporary limitation on the processing of Italian users' data" by ChatGPT's owner, the San Francisco-based OpenAI. ChatGPT has been a sensation since its launch last November due to its ability to generate plausible-sounding responses to questions, as well as creating an array of content including poems, academic essays and summaries of lengthy documents when prompted by users. It is powered by a groundbreaking artificial intelligence system that is trained on a vast amount of information culled from the internet.

MILAN/LONDON Feb 3 (Reuters) - Italy's Data Protection Agency said on Friday it was prohibiting artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of Italian users, citing risks to minors and emotionally fragile people. Replika, a San Francisco startup launched in 2017, offers users customized avatars that talk and listen to them. It has led the way among English speakers, and is free to use, though it brings in around $2 million in monthly revenue from selling bonus features such as voice chats. The'virtual friend' is marketed as being able to improve the emotional well-being of the user. But the Italian watchdog said that by intervening in the user's mood, it "may increase the risks for individuals still in a developmental stage or in a state of emotional fragility".

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Italy's Data Protection Agency said on Friday it was prohibiting artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of Italian users, citing risks to minors and emotionally fragile people. Replika, a San Francisco startup launched in 2017, offers users customized avatars that talk and listen to them. It has led the way among English speakers, and is free to use, though it brings in around $2 million in monthly revenue from selling bonus features such as voice chats.