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OpenAI desktop app lead grants ChatGPT agent control over personal apps and data

#openai#chatgpt#ai-agents#privacy

Andrew Ambrosino, lead engineer for OpenAI's desktop app, said the app now has access to and control over his inbox, Slack, phone, and apps like Notion and Figma, as part of testing ChatGPT Work. The product, released last month, is available on the company's lowest subscription tier at $20 per month and aims to let white-collar workers field AI agents. Ambrosino acknowledged potential privacy risks, such as the model pulling from private DMs, but said he has not yet had to take a personal hit.

Coverage timeline

  1. TechCrunch AITim Fernholz

    How much control are you willing to give an LLM over your digital life? Getting the most value from a model means giving it the keys. For a control freak or the AI-hesitant, it seems like a lot. For Andrew Ambrosino, the lead engineer for OpenAI’s desktop app, it’s the only way to test the future, which is why that app now has access to, and control over, his inbox, his Slack account, his phone, apps like Notion and Figma, and more. “If I’m asking it to write a document, is there a possibility that it’s going to pull from a private DM on that subject and not know that it’s not supposed to share some info? Yes,” Ambrosino told TechCrunch. “I’ll do it for the job. I will take the personal hit here and there if I have to. And I haven’t had to.” Ambrosino works on OpenAI’s biggest bet, ChatGPT Work, which was released last month and is available on the company’s lowest subscription tier, for $20 a month. The product is intended to allow white-collar workers to field AI agents — hooking LLM