The US Congress has banned use of Microsoft’s Copilot AI tool by its staff members with respect to data security. The decision emerged from concerns over potential data leaks to unauthorized cloud services. House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor issued a memo to them.

This directive mainly stems from raised concerns by the Office of Cybersecurity and it is with respect to the vulnerability of data security. Employees are now completely barred from employing Copilot on thoe devices which have been provided by the government. This means they can use it on their personal devices.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the security standards that is required by the federal government. It is learned the tech giant may soon introduce a suite of Microsoft AI tools and this will be tailored to meet such specific requirements.

Additionally, the memo also highlights the limited usage of ChatGPT Plus, which is the premium version of OpenAI’s chatbot. This is solely for research purposes and with enhanced privacy settings. Notably, it prohibits the use of other large language model AI software within the House at present.

Furthermore, Szpindor’s office has also outlined intentions to evaluate the government edition of Copilot post-release. This is simply to determine its suitability for use on House devices.

The actions follow previous legislative endeavors which were focused at regulating AI usage and especially concerning political contexts. They are consistent with the cautious approach adopted by tech companies towards generative AI tools due to apprehensions surrounding data privacy.

Despite Microsoft’s efforts to fortify the security of government tools, these measures underscore a commitment to safeguarding sensitive data within governmental operations.