OpenAI announced the removal of the sign-up requirement for its popular Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot tool ChatGPT. This means anyone can now use ChatGPT 3.5 instantly without creating an account. While lauded by some as a step towards democratizing AI, the decision has also sparked concerns about data privacy and potential misuse.

Previously, users needed to register for a free account to access ChatGPT’s functionalities. However, the new “instant access” version offers the same core features but lacks functionalities like saving chat history and using voice commands.

While the ease of access is undeniable, concerns remain about data privacy. OpenAI acknowledges that user interactions with ChatGPT may be used to improve its models but the option to opt-out through settings is currently unavailable in the instant access version. OpenAI has also implemented additional safeguards in the free tier blocking outputs from a wider range of sensitive topics. 

OpenAI claims this current move aims to make AI technology more approachable for anyone curious about its capabilities. However, some experts, like Simon Willison, co-creator of Django web framework question OpenAI’s ability to prevent data scraping and misuse of the free API.

OpenAI also officially hinted at this reason in its blog post, stating, 

It’s core to our mission to make tools like ChatGPT broadly available so that people can experience the benefits of AI. More than 100 million people across 185 countries use ChatGPT weekly to learn something new, find creative inspiration, and get answers to their questions.

The news comes amidst a growing generative AI market with competitors like Anthropic’s Claude and Google DeepMind’s Gemini Pro offering superior capabilities according to Hugging Face rankings. OpenAI’s move is seen by some as a strategic effort to retain users and compete in this evolving landscape.