The City of Chicago says its computer systems were targeted by at least one major artificial intelligence company’s technology, and that its databases were probed.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office confirmed it was contacted by OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, to inform the city that the company’s technology accessed information from an online “public facing” database.
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“To my knowledge, there is no sensitive or personal information that, without authorization, was made public,” Johnson said after Wednesday’s City Club Luncheon. “The good news,” he said, “is that our preparation has put us in a stronger position to protect the public.”
Much of Chicago’s data is freely available to the public through the city’s official data portal. It includes everything from street sweeping schedules to financial incentive projects.
Todd Funiss is CEO of AIAI Holdings, a company that helps businesses integrate artificial intelligence into their operations. He said agents accessing such data should not pose much of a threat.
“It is stunning to know how much publicly available data there is on each of us,” Furniss said. “I think that when people are caught off guard it’s because they didn’t realize there was that much available information.”
The Chicago incident comes as the debate over the dangers of AI is getting louder.
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Earlier this week, President Donald Trump hosted a White House luncheon with top tech CEOs and government leaders to launch a voluntary “AI safety accord.” He said the industry should do more to regulate itself.
Furniss said government regulation won’t be easy.
“You are talking about something that is very difficult to control or regulate, first of all. And the idea of regulation suggests that we are going to impede development progress,” he said.
Still the calls for government regulation of AI are growing, from the Vatican to City Hall.
Johnson Wednesday recalled a conversation with the Pope when he visited him this summer.
“AI should be used to enhance humanity not replace it,” he said.
