OpenAI’s chat AI ChatGPT was released at the end of 2022 and has enjoyed great international popularity ever since. However, it’s no secret that sometimes statements made by ChatGPT are illogical or wrong. Colleague Nils will show you what this can look like in a self-test.
Even if things go well most of the time, misinformation can be dangerous when it’s not about the amount of salt in the recipe. That’s why OpenAI should now be accountable.
The American antitrust authority FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has launched an official investigation into the makers of ChatGPT. It examines whether the company has engaged in unfair or deceptive practices which, among other things, have led to »defamation« among consumers.
That could cost OpenAI billions of dollars – and more.
20 pages of claims
According to a Washington Post report, the FTC sent a 20-page letter to OpenAI requesting various information and documents. It is said to be about privacy and reputational damage.
The agency also asked for details on OpenAI’s large language model, the technology behind the generative AI chatbot, including any sources used to train the model and how the data was obtained.
At the same time, they are demanding information about a security incident in March in which Payment data and chat history visible to some users were. In its official statement, OpenAI said that only “extremely little” data was published.
But that’s not all: the FTC wants to Access to any complaintwhich OpenAI received for “false, misleading, defamatory or harmful statements” from ChatGPT.
The OpenAI boss Sam Altman is cooperative and has announced that he will work with the authority.
Fine in the billions possible
The FTC has examined the consumer protections of large tech companies on several occasions. Companies such as Meta, Twitter and Amazon that have violated this have had to pay fines in the millions or billions in the past.
That could also happen to OpenAI. Whether that will happen remains to be seen in the coming months.
Has ChatGPT ever given you false, misleading, defamatory or harmful statements? Did you complain about it or did you just accept it as a mistake? Has the chatbot perhaps made a false statement that actually harmed you? Let us know your opinions and experiences in the comments below!