Samsung bans generative AI use by employees, report says

Samsung is reportedly creating an artificial intelligence tool akin to ChatGPT

Samsung Electronics Co. will reportedly ban employee use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT after the company discovered staff had uploaded sensitive code to the model.

The notice to staff at one of its biggest divisions came Monday, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News. 

The outlet said the tech giant is concerned that data sent to artificial intelligence platforms is stored on external servers and could be disclosed to other users. 

"Interest in generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT has been growing internally and externally," Samsung told staff, according to Bloomberg News. "While this interest focuses on the usefulness and efficiency of these platforms, there are also growing concerns about security risks presented by generative AI."

SAMSUNG EMPLOYEES REPORTEDLY LEAKED SENSITIVE INFO ON CHATGPT BY ACCIDENT

People walk past the logo of Samsung Electronics outside its Seoul building

People walk past the logo of Samsung Electronics outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on July 7, 2022. (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The site said a Samsung representative confirmed that a previous memo sent last week had banned the use of generative artificial intelligence services on company-owned devices as well as internal networks.

Failing to adhere to security guidelines "may result in a breach or compromise of company information resulting in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment," the company said.

ChatGPT

The ChatGPT and OpenAI website is screened for an illustration photo in Gliwice, Poland, on March 31, 2023.  (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

"HQ is reviewing security measures to create a secure environment for safely using generative AI to enhance employees’ productivity and efficiency," Bloomberg News said the memo noted. "However, until these measures are prepared, we are temporarily restricting the use of generative AI." 

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Samsung did not immediately reply to Fox Business Digital's request for comment. 

ChatGPT

Symbolic photo: The logo of the chatbot ChatGPT from the company OpenAI can be seen on a smartphone on April 3, 2023, in Berlin, Germany.  (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Samsung is also reportedly creating its own internal AI tool. 

This all comes after OpenAI's ChatGPT introduced the ability to turn off chat history in ChatGPT last month.

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In a blog post, the company said conversations that are started when chat history is disabled will not be used to train and improve its models and will not appear in the history sidebar. 

The controls are found in the ChatGPT settings and can be changed at any time.