ChatGPT, 2023's most talked-about app, celebrates its first year

Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT is a chatbot capable of generating text, poetry, and even computer code on command. Celebrating its first anniversary since its launch on November 30, 2022, ChatGPT inspired many other applications after exceeding 100 million users within just two months of its release.

Nearly every company turns to productive AI following ChatGPT

Following ChatGPT, Alphabet, Google's parent company, introduced its new technology named "Bard," while Elon Musk's AI company xAI announced a new AI model named "Grok."

The robot, which has been further developed over time, had its GPT-4 version launched on March 14. Unlike its previous version, which only worked with text, the new version can interpret images and has improved accuracy in its responses.

In September, OpenAI announced that new audio and visual capabilities would start being integrated into ChatGPT. With these new features, users will be able to participate in voice calls and receive spoken responses from the chatbot, and they will also be able to share images with ChatGPT.

Around the same time, it was announced that the app could acquire new information from the internet and update itself, no longer relying solely on pre-2021 data.

The new and more powerful "GPT-4 Turbo" AI model was announced on November 6. While previous versions accepted inputs of up to 3,000 words, GPT-4 Turbo can process inputs as long as 300 pages.

The rapid development of ChatGPT and AI has raised concerns. In March, the Italian Data Protection Authority launched an investigation into OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot for suspected violations of personal data collection rules, temporarily blocking access to the application.

The Authority stated that ChatGPT, accused of illegally collecting personal data of Italian users, would have its access temporarily blocked in Italy until it complies with the country's privacy standards and regulations.

In April, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced an investigation into the app based on complaints about the unauthorized collection, use, and disclosure of personal information.

In July, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported starting an investigation into OpenAI for potentially violating consumer protection laws by risking personal reputations and data.

The Personal Information Protection Commission of South Korea (PIPC) fined OpenAI for exposing subscribers' payment information for nine hours through the ChatGPT application.

Following the app's unique success, turbulent times began at OpenAI. In November, the company announced that its CEO, Sam Altman, had stepped down.

Following this, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, which owns about 49% of OpenAI, announced on November 19 that Altman would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.

OpenAI employees demanded the resignation of the current board, threatening to follow Altman's path by leaving their positions and working at Microsoft, the company's largest investor.

Following these threats, OpenAI announced that Altman would return to the company as CEO with a new board of directors.