US Congressional staff can reportedly no longer use Microsoft’s Copilot on government-issued devices Axios. The publication said it obtained a memo from House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor telling congressional staff that AI chatbots are now officially banned. Apparently, the Cybersecurity Office considers Copilot a risk “because House data could be leaked to a cloud service that has not been approved by the House.” While there’s nothing stopping them from using Copilot on their phones and laptops, Congress has All Windows devices will now be blocked.
About a year ago, Congress also set strict limits on the use of ChatGPT, which like Copilot is powered by OpenAI’s large language model. It prohibits staff from using the free version of the chatbot on House computers, but allows them to continue using the paid (ChatGPT Plus) version for research and evaluation due to its stricter privacy controls. Recently, the White House revealed the rules federal agencies must follow when generating artificial intelligence, which will ensure that any tools they use “do not jeopardize the rights and safety of Americans.”
Microsoft tells Axios It does recognize the need for higher security requirements from government users. Last year, it announced a roadmap of tools and services for government use, including an Azure OpenAI service for classifying workloads and a new version of the Microsoft 365 Copilot Assistant. The company says all these tools and services will have a higher level of security, which will make them more suitable for handling sensitive material.According to Spindor’s office Axioswill be evaluated after the government version of Copilot is launched before deciding whether it can be used on House devices.
3 Comments
Pingback: Microsoft Copilot reportedly blocked on all Congress-owned devices – Tech Empire Solutions
Pingback: Microsoft Copilot reportedly blocked on all Congress-owned devices – Paxton Willson
Pingback: Microsoft Copilot reportedly blocked on all Congress-owned devices – Mary Ashley