OpenAI Rolls Out ChatGPT Health in US—Personalized Advice, Big Privacy Questions Raised
OpenAI has released a new ChatGPT Health feature in the US that lets people share medical records and data from health apps like Apple Health, Peloton, and MyFitnessPal to get more personalized health-related answers. OpenAI says that the feature has improved privacy protections by keeping health conversations separate and not using them to train its AI. It also stresses that the feature is meant to support, not replace, medical care or give diagnoses.
But privacy advocates are worried. Andrew Crawford from the Center for Democracy and Technology said that health data is very private and needs “airtight” protection, especially now that OpenAI is looking into business models based on advertising. He warned that weak protections could put users’ health information in danger.
OpenAI says that more than 230 million people ask ChatGPT health-related questions every week. However, the new feature is only available to a small group of early users in the US, and there is a waitlist for it. Because of stricter data protection rules, it is not yet available in the UK, Switzerland, or the European Economic Area.
Experts in the field have called the launch a “watershed moment” that could change how patients are treated and how consumers act. It could also help OpenAI stay ahead of the competition from other AI platforms.
