San Francisco-based AI chatbot maker, Replika — which operates a freemium ‘virtual friendship’ service based on customizable digital avatars whose “personalized” responses are powered by artificial intelligence (and designed, per its pitch, to make human users feel better) — has been ordered by Italy’s privacy watchdog to stop processing local users’ data.
The Garante said it’s concerned Replika’s chatbot technology poses risks to minors — and also that the company lacks a proper legal basis for processing children’s data under the EU’s data protection rules.
Additionally, the regulator is worried about the risk the AI chatbots could pose …
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