US Congress bans staff use of Microsoft's AI Copilot, Axios reports


FILE PHOTO: A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 25, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

(Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives has set a strict ban on congressional staffers' use of Microsoft's Copilot generative AI assistant, Axios reported on Friday.

"The Microsoft Copilot application has been deemed by the Office of Cybersecurity to be a risk to users due to the threat of leaking House data to non-House approved cloud services," the House's Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor said, according to the Axios report.

"We recognize that government users have higher security requirements for data. That’s why we announced a roadmap of Microsoft AI tools, like Copilot, that meet federal government security and compliance requirements that we intend to deliver later this year,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters.

The U.S. House's chief administrative office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Policymakers have been looking at potential risks in federal agency adoption of artificial intelligence and the adequacy of safeguards to protect individual privacy and ensure fair treatment.

Last year, two Democratic and two Republican U.S. senators introduced legislation to ban the use of artificial intelligence that creates content falsely depicting candidates in political advertisements to influence federal elections.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

   

Next In Tech News

Exclusive-Amazon likely to face investigation under EU tech rules next year, sources say
US natgas producers chase AI-driven surge in power demand to weather low prices
Snowflake shares surge on rosy forecast, AI deal with Anthropic
Digital banks lead profitability gains among Brazilian lenders, says central bank
PayPal fixes outage that affected thousands worldwide
X's former top policy chief takes job with Elon Musk rival, Sam Altman
Alibaba integrates e-commerce platforms into a single business unit
US watchdog issues final rule to supervise Big Tech payments, digital wallets
Nvidia to build AI school in Indonesia, VP says
A Google PC running Android could be in the works

Others Also Read