A recent report from The Economist details incidents where Samsung Electronics employees used a chatbot with artificial intelligence features similar to ChatGPT, leading to the exposure of internal corporate data. The article notes that the engagements began about three weeks prior and that team members discussed processor developments, upcoming devices, and related capabilities well before official communications were released. A source within Samsung described the situation as a case of enterprise professionals misusing the AI tool, resulting in confidential data becoming accessible through the chatbot platform.
One instance involved an engineer who pasted the source code for chip manufacturing equipment into an AI chat thread. A second documented leak occurred when another staff member shared sensitive source code with the chatbot to streamline verification processes. A third leak arose when a Samsung employee attempted to draft a text version of meeting minutes. In that scenario, information that should have remained restricted inside the company leaked into the AI system’s knowledge base, effectively becoming part of the model’s accessible data.
Samsung has reportedly moved to tighten controls and prevent further incidents. The measures include explicit prohibitions on sharing confidential Samsung information through the chatbot and heightened monitoring of employee use of AI tools. The company has reiterated the importance of safeguarding sensitive data and has called for stricter adherence to internal policies when interacting with AI platforms.
In related technology news, Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, has discussed envisioning a future where ChatGPT-like tools could be used to draft entries for an online encyclopedia. Wales has suggested a broader shift toward AI-assisted content creation, though such proposals also raise questions about reliability, sourcing, and editorial oversight in collaborative encyclopedias.