After Italy blocked access to OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot, will the rest of Europe follow?

Italy has become the first Western country to block ChatGPT, a popular chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

The country’s data protection watchdog said it's opening an investigation against OpenAI, the company behind the massively popular chatbot due to data privacy concerns after ChatGPT experienced a data breach involving user conversations and payment information. 

ChatGPT can pretty much answer any questions, pass exams and even code a whole website for you.

Hundreds of millions of people have used ChatGPT since its launch in November 2022, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history, according to a UBS study.

But there have been growing concerns over the potential risks of AI, including its threat to wipe out many jobs and also spread misinformation.

Last week, major figures in technology, including Twitter boss Elon Musk, called for these types of AI systems to be suspended amid fears the race to develop them has become out of control.

After Italy's decision to restrict access to the chatbot, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) is calling on all authorities to investigate all major AI chatbots.

ChatGPT, for instance, is already inaccessible in a number of countries, including China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

"Consumers are not ready for this technology. They don't realise how manipulative, how deceptive it can be," said Ursula Pachl, Deputy Director of the BEUC.

"They don't realise that the information they get is maybe wrong. I think this incident with ChatGPT is very important. It's kind of a wake-up call for the European Union because even though European institutions have been working on an AI Act, it will not be applicable for another four years. And we have seen how fast these