The U.S. House has reportedly enforced a strict prohibition on the use of Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT Copilot AI chatbot by its congressional staffers.
What Happened: This decision comes in the wake of the federal government’s ongoing efforts to manage its internal use of AI while simultaneously working on regulations for this emerging technology, reported Axios.
The Chief Administrative Officer of the House, Catherine Szpindor, has communicated to congressional offices that Microsoft Copilot is "unauthorized for House use."
The Office of Cybersecurity has identified Copilot as a potential risk for leaking House data to non-House-approved cloud services.
As a result, Copilot will be removed from and blocked on all House Windows devices.
Microsoft is working to address these concerns by rolling out a suite of government-oriented tools later this year, designed to meet federal government security and compliance requirements.
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Why It Matters: This move by the U.S. House is the latest in a series of actions taken by governmental bodies and major corporations to address the potential risks associated with AI-based chatbots.
Earlier, in 2023, Apple Inc. banned the internal use of OpenAI's ChatGPT and other AI tools. This was followed by a similar move by Alphabet Inc.'s Google in June 2023.
These actions reflect the growing concerns about data security and privacy surrounding AI-based chatbots, prompting organizations to reevaluate their use of these technologies.
Meanwhile, the White House has introduced a comprehensive policy to address the potential risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) use across federal agencies. The new policy, released on Thursday, mandates federal agencies to appoint a chief AI officer, disclose their AI usage, and implement protective measures.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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