OpenAI pulls back ChatGPT’s ‘Browse with Bing’ feature amid copyright and privacy concerns

OpenAI has disabled Browse with Bing, an Internet surfing feature available to ChatGPT Plus users.

In a tweet thread, OpenAI argued that the Browse feature can sometimes produce results in a manner it does not want.

stray into protected content

“We have learned that the “Browse” beta of ChatGPT can sometimes display content in ways we do not intend, for example if a user specifically asks for the full text of a URL, it may inadvertently display this content. can fulfill the request. We’re disabling browse while we fix this – we want to correct by the content owners,” ChatGPT creator Said in a tweet.

News reports say the development follows the revelation that AI chatbots can bypass paywall protections on websites and inadvertently generate results that should be available exclusively to qualified users. This is possible because ChatGPT Plus users can access the more powerful ChatGPT-4, which takes advantage of the latest information online. The original version of ChatGPT provides results based on information up to September 2021.

In addition, ChatGPT Plus has access to the Plugin Store and Browse with Bing, which have now been disabled. ChatGPT-4 can, with the help of some plugins, breach protected areas of websites, which is both embarrassing and illegal.

already in trouble with the law

OpenAI is already facing lawsuits for copyright and privacy infringement. A lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco alleges that the company copied text from the books without consent, compensation or credit to the copyright-holding entities. Another lawsuit accused the company of collecting people’s personal information online.

However, ChatGPT itself has been a victim of data theft. A report by Group-IB in June revealed that the personal data of nearly 100,000 ChatGPT users had been stolen and sold on the dark net.

ChatGPT Plus is a beta version of the chatbot, the main purpose of which is to test and collect feedback. Recalling the Browse With Bing feature, OpenAI thanked customers for helping them test the application.

this is beta version

“Thankful to all the ChatGPT Plus customers who are helping us test the browsing feature. That’s why we started with beta – we’ve gotten extremely valuable feedback, learned a lot and will be back soon,” OpenAI Said in tweet thread.

Last month, some leaked documents revealed that ChatGPT is working to provide file uploading, advanced profile, workspace and organization management features.