The OpenAI boss warns users to be careful what they ask in ChatGPT — the correspondence can be used against you in court.
Sam Altman admitted during a conversation on the This Past Weekend podcast that chatting with AI is not the same as talking to a doctor, forensic scientist, or lawyer. And none of the «attorney-client privilege» rules apply here.
«If you talk to ChatGPT about your most sensitive stuff, and then there is a lawsuit, we could be required to produce that», — says Sam Altman.
His statement did not come out of nowhere: in early June OpenAI is obliged to store all chat histories — even those that users have manually deleted. This is part of a lawsuit where the company is accused of copyright infringement. Despite appeals, the court refused to overturn the decision.
The OpenAI CEO believes that this serious problem requires changes at the legislative level. However, Judge Ona Won, who made the decision, disagreed with the defense’s arguments regarding surveillance. She explained that an order to store chats is only needed for specific cases in court — and this allegedly cannot be equated to systemic surveillance. Therefore, we must keep in mind that this precedent can be used in other countries — not only in the United States, but around the world.
Even Altman himself admits that he is uncomfortable using some AI tools. Not because he doesn’t trust the technology, but because he wants to protect himself in advance from someone using personal information against him. He also warned that without clear limits in the laws, governments can go too far. Yes, he agrees with some compromises for the sake of security — for example, in the fight against terrorism. But he emphasizes that history knows many examples of governments crossing the line.
So while the laws are not on the side of protecting user privacy, it is better to think twice before sharing something personal with AI. And don’t ask something provocative. In this case, even Googling is not so safe — incognito tabs are really just «shield».
Source: This Past Weekend
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