OpenAI is set to open its first office in the European Union (EU) and make several strategic hires, as the company braces for regulatory headwinds.
ChatGPT Maker He says It plans to open its third office, after San Francisco and London it announced in June, in Ireland, which has almost emerged as a second home for countless American technology companies seeking to foster closer ties with European regulators and customers — while paying a high price. A more favorable tax rate as well.
According to her Jobs pageOpenAI is currently hiring for 9 positions in the Irish capital, Dublin, and the roles they are looking to fill are somewhat indicative of where they are currently located.
Along with a few payroll and client focused roles, the company is hiring an Associate General Counsel for the EMEA region; Policy leadership and partnerships in global affairs; Privacy Program Manager; Privacy-focused software engineer; Media relations leader.
In short, OpenAI is preparing to show Brussels that it is serious about privacy, and plans to announce it from the rooftops.
European factor
For context, OpenAI has faced more than a little scrutiny from behind ChatGPT, an innovative AI-powered chatbot that has taken the world by storm due to its ability to create large-scale content with simple text prompts. In Europe, Italy in March ordered a ban on ChatGPT over data protection concerns — specifically, how people’s data could be processed illegally, as well as a lack of adequate guardrails for minors. Spain quickly followed suit, although OpenAI relaunched ChatGPT in Italy after introducing some privacy disclosures and controls.
Recently, OpenAI was accused of a myriad of data protection violations by a security and privacy researcher who filed a complaint with the Polish Data Protection Authority, arguing that OpenAI was violating the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which includes areas such as (lack of… ) Transparency; data access rights; Legal basis (for data processing); fairness; Privacy by design.
However, an EU AI law looms, which aims to control AI applications based on perceived risks. Once passed, it will be the first significant AI regulations to appear anywhere in the world, and could serve as a blueprint for other countries to follow.
Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman embarked on a European chat tour, where he met with regulators and seemingly warned against over-regulation of AI. This was despite recently telling US regulators That regulation of artificial intelligence was crucial And that there is a need for an international regulatory body for artificial intelligence.
This, in fact, is why OpenAI had to set up shop in the EU, even though its current hiring schedule seems rather light when compared to the EU’s might. It also pales in comparison For millions to love Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft have spent money lobbying against regulation in Europe.
In any case, it’s clear that Europe will be a major focal point for all companies working in the AI space, and as one of the biggest leaders in the burgeoning AI space, we can expect OpenAI to expand its presence and lobbying efforts from here in.