The U.S. House has recently enforced a stringent prohibition on the utilization of Microsoft Corp.’s Copilot AI chatbot by its congressional staffers.
This decision arises amidst the federal government’s active endeavors to regulate its internal use of AI and develop regulations for this burgeoning technology, as reported by Axios.
Chief Administrative Officer of the House, Catherine Szpindor, has clearly stated that Microsoft Copilot is now “unauthorized for House use.”
The Office of Cybersecurity has highlighted Copilot as a potential jeopardy for leaking House data to non-House-approved cloud services.
Consequently, Copilot is slated for removal from and interception on all House Windows devices.
Microsoft is diligent in quelling these concerns by rolling out a suite of government-centric tools later this year, meticulously crafted to adhere to federal government security and compliance standards.
Why does this intricate web of congressional decisions matter?
The move by the U.S. House represents the latest step in a series of actions undertaken by governmental entities and significant corporations to confront the potential hazards linked to AI-driven chatbots.
In the annals of recent history, Apple Inc. in 2023 barred the internal use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI tools, promptly followed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google in June of the same year.
These actions epitomize the escalating worries concerning data security and privacy tied to AI-based chatbots, compelling organizations to reassess their deployment of these technologies.
Simultaneously, the White House has implemented a sweeping policy aimed at tackling the potential perils associated with artificial intelligence (AI) adoption within federal agencies.
This fresh policy, unveiled just last Thursday, mandates federal agencies to designate a chief AI officer, divulge their AI utilization, and enact protective measures.