The US House of Representatives has banned its staff from using Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot.
Catherine Szpindor, the House’s Chief Administrative Officer, announced the prohibition, stating Copilot is unauthorized for House use.
The Office of Cybersecurity flagged Copilot as a risk due to its potential to leak House data to non-approved cloud services.
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Microsoft Response To This Action
Microsoft plans to release a suite of tools tailored for government use in response to security concerns.
The tools aim to address Congress’s security needs, acknowledging the heightened requirements of government users.
According to a Microsoft representative, the suite will include AI tools like Copilot, designed to adhere to federal security and regulatory standards.
Ban Applicable On Certain Things
Szpindor’s office specified that their decision regarding Copilot’s use applies solely to its commercial iteration, leaving room for evaluation of the government version upon its release.
They will evaluate the government version once it is released and make a decision accordingly.
The office plans to assess the government version of Copilot upon its launch, suggesting a separate decision-making process for its usage in governmental contexts.
US House Has Already Banned OpenAI’s ChatGPT
Congressional staff are now prohibited from using Copilot, mirroring a prior restriction placed on ChatGPT in June 2023.
While staff can access the premium version of Copilot to a limited extent, the free version is entirely banned.
This action aligns with the federal government’s broader effort to regulate AI technology internally and establish guidelines for its evolving landscape.
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