The US Consumer Protection Agency FTC takes on the chatbot ChatGPT. The developer company OpenAI now has to answer numerous questions about possible dangers for users.
According to media reports, the chatbot ChatGPT is being targeted by the US Consumer Protection Agency FTC. The Washington Post and the New York Times wrote that she sent the developer company OpenAI a detailed catalog of questions about dangers for consumers.
The FTC focuses on the handling of user data and cases in which ChatGPT gives false information about people.
ChatGPT without understanding content
ChatGPT has been causing a stir since the end of last year because the chatbot can communicate at human language level. The software was trained for this with a huge amount of data. She forms sentences by estimating word for word how a sentence could go on.
A disadvantage of the principle is that the program has no understanding of the content: That is why it can also output information that is completely wrong with conviction.
ChatGPT invents falsehoods about people
In the past few months, several cases have come to light in which ChatGPT has made up untruths about people that could damage their reputation. The software claimed that there were allegations of sexual harassment against a law professor and referred to an alleged report in the Washington Post as evidence. But there were neither the allegations nor an article about them, as the newspaper reported back in April.
According to media reports, the software falsely claimed that a mayor from Australia had been sentenced to prison. The story of a US lawyer who, according to his own statements, relied on information from ChatGPT when arguing in a court case also went through the media. Several alleged judgments cited by him turned out to be fictitious.
Questions about privacy and precautions
As for data security, there was an incident in March where some ChatGPT users were able to see other people’s chat history. The number of people affected was “extremely low”, OpenAI wrote in a blog entry.
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) wanted the company to provide documents on this incident, among other things, the Washington Post wrote. She also asked OpenAI’s findings on how aware users are that ChatGPT can give them false information. She also wants to learn more about precautions that OpenAI takes before new versions of the software are made publicly available.