Report from EuroNews
In Brief – Employees of the Swedish Government have been directed not to use browser-based versions of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude on work computers following concerns about the security of sensitive information. The move follows a review of AI tools used by employees at the Swedish Transport Administration. Officials said they were concerned that sensitive information would be entered into AI models by government workers without agreements in place governing data protection. Swedish Government employees will still be permitted to use AI for work, but under tighter data security controls. Microsoft’s Copilot is being recommended as an AI alternative because it has passed the government’s security screening and is covered by a data security agreement with the company, while some employees will be able to continue using ChatGPT and Claude, but only through a dedicated platform for AI assistants developed by Swedish authorities.
Context – It’s hard to filter out the science-fiction scenarios surrounding discussions of AI because they are so deeply ingrained in our culture, and so much of the public policy ecosystem is driven by clicks. And Doom drives clicks. However, there are staid real world risks when employees use AI, including data security and legal compliance. China-based DeepSeek quickly raised data security concerns among governments when it emerged in late 2023. South Korea’s data protection authority banned the app and Italy’s privacy regulator ordered Apple and Google to block downloads after the company disputed its obligation to comply with the EU’s GDPR. Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, the US federal government and several US states have also blocked DeepSeek from their employees’ devices. However, governments, including in Europe, are certain to be looking to use AI smartly to increase efficiency in an era of chronic fiscal challenges. For example, the Dutch government recently announced that it aims to cut 25,000 civil servant jobs over the next few years with AI-led efficiency as a key part of the plan.