The popular ChatGPT app’s developer, OpenAI, is being looked at by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) due to suspicions that it is producing fraudulent information.
The inquiry raises concerns regarding the technology employed by OpenAI’s management of user data improperly and potential harm to customers.
The FTC asked OpenAI in a letter for information detailing instances in which users were falsely denigrated as well as specifics on the company’s attempts to stop such instances from happening again. The investigation is taking place as regulators examine the hazards connected to artificial intelligence (AI) technology more closely.
During a hearing before a congressional committee, FTC Chair Lina Khan emphasized her organization’s worries regarding ChatGPT’s output, saying, we’ve heard about incidents where people’s personal information is turning up in answer to a query from somebody else. We’ve heard of growing libel, defamatory claims, and outright falsehoods. This is the kind of fraud and dishonesty that worries us.
When he testified before Congress earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted that the system would be prone to mistakes.
He emphasized the necessity for laws and the creation of a new organization to supervise AI safety.
The FTC’s inquiry focuses on OpenAI’s data privacy practices as well as the procedures used to develop and train the AI system, in addition to the possible harm to users.
ChatGPT is built on the company’s extensive GPT-4 language model, which is also licensed by a large number of other businesses for use in their products.
Despite OpenAI’s attempts to improve ChatGPT’s security and dependability, worries regarding inappropriate or erroneous information produced by the AI model have remained.
Due to privacy concerns, Italy prohibited the usage of ChatGPT in April. It only allowed it again when OpenAI added mechanisms for age verification and disclosed more details about their privacy practices.
The FTC and OpenAI have not yet responded to inquiries about the probe.
Authorities need to address the potential hazards to consumers as the use of AI technology, in particular huge language models, becomes more widespread.
The FTC’s investigation’s findings will have an impact on OpenAI as well as the larger AI sector as businesses compete to develop and implement comparable technology while juggling concerns about accuracy, user protection, and privacy.
