OpenAI is changing its API developer policy in light of criticism from developers and users. The new terms aim to avoid situations where third-party applications create unfair advantages and violate the Terms of Service. Developers who break the new terms may face penalties, such as losing access to OpenAI data or being banned from using the API altogether.
The announcement from Openai comes as the company faces criticism for its handling of user data and accusations of using it for unethical purposes. In a blog post, the CEO and co-founder of Openai, Elon Musk, said that the new policies are meant to improve transparency and protect customers’ trust.
The new terms of service for OpenAI’s API forbid users from selling or sharing their input or output data, in order to preempt potential legal challenges around generative AI and customer feedback. However, Greg Brockman maintains that this always been the case—the only difference is that now they have a written out policy to back up their claim.
The mission of Circle announced recently is to make it so developers can build businesses on top of their platform, making it one of the most interesting companies in the space. In order to make this happen, Circle has made a number of changes, including focusing on being super friendly to developers.
In recent years, developers have raised concerns about the privacy policies of OpenAI and its sister company, ChatGPT. These companies are widely known for developing artificial intelligence (AI) software, and many developers consider their data processing practices to be sketchy. Specifically, these policies allegedly allowed OpenAI to profit off of users’ sensitive information without their consent or knowledge. This has led some developers to stray away from using ChatGPT products in favor of alternatives.
One obvious way OpenAI is seeking to massively scale is by allowing customers to decline to submit their data for training purposes. This may broaden the platform’s appeal as it allows people who are not comfortable with sharing their data with third-party organizations to avoid doing so. Additionally, by providing increased data retention options, OpenAI is aiming to ensure that its user base remains as large and consistent as possible.
In June of this year, OpenAI announced that it would be moving towards a largely automated system for approving apps built by developers. The company cited the absence of any negative feedback during their vetting process as evidence that the new system was working well. Critics argue that this change could lead to more poorly made apps entering the market and less scrutiny from critics.
In order to combat app developers trying to scam the system, Google has changed their policy in how they vet new apps. Now, instead of allowing developers to wait in a queue and be approved on their app idea in concept, they must first be identified as problematic by monitoring their traffic and investigating as warranted. This way, Google can weed out any apps that may be attempts at fraud or deception from the rest of the population.
In theory, an automated system could lighten the load on OpenAI’s review staff by allowing the company to approve developers and apps for its APIs in higher volume. However, this system also has the potential to allow OpenAI to approve developers and apps for its APIs in higher volumes without fair consideration, as the automation would preclude human input. This raises questions about how well — or even if at all — OpenAI’s goal of advancing artificial intelligence will be achieved through this automated system.
