OpenAI today (September 25, 2024) announced the wide deployment of its so-called "Advanced Voice” feature. However, this highly anticipated new feature which enables human-like voice conversation with ChatGPT including the ability to cross-talk and interrupt each other, will not be available in the European Union due to prohibitions imposed by the EU AI Act.

OpenAI clarified that Advanced Voice will also not be available in Switzerland, the UK, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.

The unavailability of this feature in the EU stems from a specific clause in the EU AI Act. Article 5(1)(f) of the EUAIA specifically prohibits “AI systems [used] to infer emotions of a natural person in the areas of workplace and education institutions.” This prohibition is rooted in concerns about privacy, potential misuse, and the ethical implications of AI systems that can detect and interpret human emotions. For more about the EUAIA, a deep dive is available here.