Interest in artificial intelligence chatbots has soared since the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT debuted in November.

ChatGPT caused a global sensation for generating essays, songs, exams and even news articles from brief prompts. Critics have fretted over how ChatGPT and its competitors collect and process data.

Major financial firms, including Goldman Sachs, have banned or restricted employees’ use of ChatGPT-like platforms in recent months.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s largest makers of memory chips and smartphones, has now joined that list.

The ban applies to staff in the mobile and appliances division, a Samsung representative told AFP.

An internal memo obtained by AFP says Samsung is working to find ways to use generative AI services in a “security safe environment for employees so that work efficiency and convenience can be enhanced”.

“… until these measures are prepared, we are banning the use of generative AI services for company-owned computers temporarily,” it said.

The memo from the Suwon-based firm also advises staff to refrain from uploading work-related information to such platforms when logging in on personal computers outside company premises.

It says there have been “instances of misuse” of ChatGPT-like features by Samsung employees, without giving details.

More than 60 percent of Samsung staff said in an internal survey there were security risks with using generative AI platforms with company devices, according to the memo.