In a significant departure from its previous practices, OpenAI has announced that it will no longer use customer data submitted through its APIs to train its expansive language models, such as GPT-4.
The change was recently confirmed by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI interview with CNBC.
OpenAI’s new approach to user data
OpenAI’s policy change was implemented on March 1, 2023, when the company quietly updated its terms of service to reflect this new commitment to user privacy.
Altman clarified: “Customers clearly want us not to train on their data, so we’ve changed our plans: We won’t.”
APIs, or application programming interfaces, are technology frameworks that allow clients to connect directly to OpenAI software.
Altman stated that OpenAI has not been using API data for model training “for some time,” suggesting that this official announcement formalizes an existing practice.
Implications for business customers
OpenAI’s move has far-reaching implications, especially for its enterprise customers, which include giants like Microsoft, Salesforce and Snapchat.
These companies are more likely to use OpenAI’s API capabilities for their operations, so the privacy and data protection change is particularly relevant to them.
However, the new data protection measures apply only to customers using the company’s API services. OpenAI’s updated terms of service note: “We may use content from services other than our API.”
As such, OpenAI can still use other forms of data input, such as text entered into the popular chatbot ChatGPT, unless the data is shared via the API.
Broader impact on the industry
OpenAI’s policy change comes as industries grapple with the potential impacts of large language models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, replacing material traditionally created by humans.
For example, the Writers Guild of America recently went on strike after negotiations between the Guild and the film studios broke down. The Guild had defended restrictions on the use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT for generating or rewriting scripts.
OpenAI’s decision not to use customer data for training marks a key moment in the ongoing conversation about data privacy and AI. As companies continue to explore and push the boundaries of AI technology, ensuring user privacy and maintaining trust will likely remain central to these discussions.
The evolution of ChatGPT: GPT-3 to GPT-4
It’s important to note that OpenAI’s commitment not to use customer data for training applies to its latest language model, GPT-4, released on March 14, 2023.
GPT-4 introduced several improvements over its predecessor, GPT-3, including a significant increase in word limit size (25,000 compared to ChatGPT’s 3,000 word limit), a larger context window size, and enhanced reasoning and understanding abilities.
Another notable feature of GPT-4 is its multimodality, or the ability to understand and infer information from images in addition to text. The latter model generates more human-like text, using features like emojis for a more personalized feel.
However, the exact size and architecture of GPT-4 remain undisclosed, leading to speculation about the details of the model.
Despite these rumors, OpenAI’s CEO has denied specific claims about the size of the model.
In terms of performance, GPT-4 has demonstrated strengths in the generation of texts but also some limitations. For example, he scored in the 54th percentile on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) writing and performed in the 43rd to 59th percentile on the AP Calculus BC exam.
Additionally, it performed well on easy Leetcode coding tasks, but its performance decreased with increasing task difficulty.
Although the details of the GPT-4 training process are not officially documented, it is known that GPT models generally involve large-scale machine learning with a wide range of text on the Internet.
looking ahead
As a result of changes to OpenAI’s data usage policy, the data used to train its language models does not include information shared through the API unless users explicitly agree to provide it for this purpose.
As this technology improves and plays a bigger role in our lives, it’s interesting how companies pivot and respond to concerns about keeping data private and earning people’s trust.
Featured image generated by the author via Midjourney.
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