Your boss might want to ban ChatGPT in the workplace for these 2 reasons

Workers may be excited about the possible uses of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the workplace, but a majority of their corporate leaders are not. That’s according to a new survey from BlackBerry, which found that 75% of organizations across the globe are considering or implementing workplace bans on ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies.

There are two main reasons that organizations are in favor of bans:

• Privacy and security: 67% of respondents cited privacy and security as reasons for bans on ChatGPT and generative AI. Generative AI requires data in order to produce results, and companies are concerned employees may upload sensitive company data to the chatbot—or bots like it—thus putting proprietary information at risk.
• Reputational risk: The second reason is the risk to corporate reputation, which 57% of respondents cited. The survey did not elaborate on how organizations feel that ChatGPT use could hurt their reputations, but one possibility is if clients know the company is using generative AI, why should the client stick with the company and not just use generative AI tools themselves to produce the work that the company is currently producing for them?

When it comes to pushing for ChatGPT and generative AI bans in the workplace, a CEO is not the most likely person to do so. Instead, the push for a ban is most likely to originate from the organization’s chief technology officer, chief information officer, or chief security officer—in other words, people who may have more technical knowledge than the CEO. Here’s how all corporate leaders compare when looking at who implements the bans most often:

• CIO/CTO/CSO/IT: 72%
• CEO: 48%
• Legal Compliance: 40%
• CFO/Finance: 36%
• HR: 32%

Interestingly, while 80% of IT decision-makers think organizations have it within their right to declare bans on ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies, 74% of those polled also feel that total bans are a sign of “excessive control” over BYO and corporate devices.

The survey was conducted between June and July 2023 and involved 2,000 decision-makers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Australia.