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Devices issued by the Michigan Senate can no longer access ChatGPT

Umito November 20, 2024

Lansing — Citing security and privacy concerns, the Michigan Senate is now blocking lawmakers and staffers from using Senate-issued devices to access certain artificial intelligence tools, including the popular chatbot ChatGPT.

Michigan Senate Information Services announced the internal policy in an email Monday, as government agencies across the country consider how to interact with new AI technology. The Michigan Senate message mentioned the ability to enter “bills” and constituent information into AI platforms.

ChatGPT, which launched in 2022can create images and write articles and text for emails in response to prompts provided by users and can analyze data.

“While (Senate Information Services) understands that AI tools are useful in many applications, including work done by Senate offices, these tools pose security and privacy risks that could have significant implications for our organization,” said Monday’s message from the Michigan Senate. said.

Starting Friday, Michigan senators, staff and interns who attempt to access AI-focused tools, including Chat GPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity, on Senate-issued devices “will encounter a message from error and will not be able to access the resource,” according to the Senate email.

The “cybersecurity update” notes that many AI resources store user-submitted data, meaning the information could be accidentally shared. Additionally, the message warned against submitting information, including “draft bills” that were not ready for public release.

“Entering proprietary and/or sensitive information into an AI tool, including personally identifiable constituent information, bills, policy research, or other material not intended or ready for public consumption, risk being exposed to other users of the AI tool or being incorporated into the AI training data,” the Senate email said.

Todd Cook, director of the Office of Senate Affairs, did not immediately respond Tuesday to a question about whether specific incidents prompted the restrictions on AI tools.

On Tuesday, it appeared that the Michigan House, which has its own business and technology policies, had not implemented limitations on ChatGPT or similar technology, as several State House staffers told the Detroit News that ‘they could still access ChatGPT.

Democrats currently hold majorities in the Michigan House of Representatives and Senate. However, Republicans will take control of the State House in January.

In March, the White House Office of Management and Budget directed federal agencies to create AI governance councils and implement safeguards for the use of AI by March 1 December.

ChatGPT’s website states that “its users can control whether their content is used to train our AI.”

“When you share your content with us, it helps our models become more accurate, more secure, and helps solve your specific problems,” said the the website adds.

The Michigan Senate email said the Senate would not restrict access to most websites or tools that include only “limited AI capabilities” and would make Microsoft 365 Copilot, a AI chatbot developed by Microsoftavailable by March 2025.

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