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In a major bolt to Microsoft’s AI ambitions, the US government is blocking Copilot AI from all PCs issued to US Congressional staff members and blocking them from using the service. This ban comes after concerns were raised by the Office of Cybersecurity
The US Government seems to be getting increasingly wary of AI. After blocking ChatGPT from government-issued PCs, the US government is now blocking Microsoft’s` Copilot AI and believes that it entails some major security concerns.
In a recent development reported by Axios, US Congressional staff members have been prohibited from using Microsoft’s Copilot on their government-issued devices. The directive came through a memo from House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor, citing concerns from the Office of Cybersecurity regarding the potential risk of leaking House data to unauthorized cloud services.
While staffers are still permitted to use Copilot on personal phones and laptops, its use has been blocked on all Windows devices owned by Congress.
This move follows a similar restriction imposed almost a year ago on the use of ChatGPT, another AI chatbot powered by OpenAI’s large language models. The previous ban allowed the paid version, ChatGPT Plus, to be used for research and evaluation purposes due to its stricter privacy controls. Additionally, the White House recently unveiled regulations outlining the use of generative AI by federal agencies, emphasising the need to safeguard the rights and safety of Americans.
Responding to the concerns, Microsoft acknowledged the necessity for heightened security measures among government users. The company had previously announced plans to introduce a suite of tools and services tailored for government use, including an Azure OpenAI service for classified workloads and an enhanced version of Microsoft 365’s Copilot assistant. These offerings are expected to boast enhanced security features designed to better handle sensitive data.
Axios reports that Szpindor’s office will evaluate the government version of Copilot upon its release, assessing its suitability for use on House devices.
