OpenAI Utilizes Human Contractors to Review ChatGPT Conversations, Raising Privacy Concerns
OpenAI is employing hundreds of contractors to review real user prompts and conversations from ChatGPT, a practice that often involves sensitive personal information. These contractors are tasked with rating and critiquing the chatbot's generated responses to improve its performance. Internal documents seen by 404 Media indicate that these reviewers train ChatGPT to avoid anthropomorphizing itself and to be less sycophantic. While OpenAI states it attempts to remove personal information before prompts reach reviewers and does not provide usernames, sensitive details can still be present in the conversations. This human review process is distinct from publicly announced safety measures, such as reviewing chats when users are detected planning harm. The practice is also being used by Anthropic to improve its models. Many ChatGPT users are likely unaware that their conversations, which often contain intimate details, may be read by human contractors.
