JPMorgan Chase is temporarily clamping down on the use of ChatGPT among its employees, as the buzzy AI chatbot explodes in popularity.
The biggest US bank has restricted its use among global staff, according to a person familiar with the matter. The decision was taken not because of a particular issue, but to accord with limits on third-party software due to compliance concerns, the person said. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) declined to comment.
ChatGPT was released to the public in late November by artificial intelligence research company Open AI. Since then, the much-hyped tool has been used to turn written prompts into convincing academic essays and creative scripts as well as trip itineraries and computer code.
Adoption has skyrocketed. UBS estimated that ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January, two months after its launch. That would make it the fastest-growing online application in history, according to the Swiss bank’s analysts.
The viral success of ChatGPT has kickstarted a frantic competition among tech companies to rush AI products to market. Google recently unveiled its ChatGPT competitor, which it’s calling Bard, while Microsoft (MSFT), an investor in Open AI, debuted its Bing AI chatbot to a limited pool of testers.
But the releases have boosted concerns about the technology. Demos of both Google and Microsoft’s tools have been called out for producing factual errors. Microsoft, meanwhile, is trying to rein in its Bing chatbot after users reported troubling responses, including confrontational remarks and dark fantasies.
Some businesses have encouraged workers to incorporate ChatGPT into their daily work. But others worry about the risks. The banking sector, which deals with sensitive client information and is closely watched by government regulators, has extra incentive to tread carefully.
Schools are also restricting ChatGPT due to concerns it could be used to cheat on assignments. New York City public schools banned it in January.
