Title: OpenAI’s ChatGPT Under FTC Investigation for Potential Risks Posed by AI Chatbots
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an official investigation into OpenAI, the creator of the AI chatbot ChatGPT, marking the first examination by US regulators into the potential risks associated with AI chatbots. The investigation aims to assess whether individuals have suffered harm due to ChatGPT generating false information about them and also to evaluate OpenAI’s privacy and data security practices, which could be considered unfair or deceptive.
Concerns raised by AI experts and ethicists have prompted global regulatory scrutiny of generative AI products. These concerns revolve around the extensive personal data consumed by the technology and the potential negative consequences such as the spread of misinformation and the generation of sexist and racist comments.
In May, the FTC issued a warning to the industry, emphasizing their vigilance regarding how companies utilize AI technology, including new generative AI tools, specifically in ways that significantly impact consumers.
The FTC’s letter to OpenAI requested internal information ranging from user data retention practices to the measures taken by the company to mitigate the risk of ChatGPT producing false, misleading, or disparaging statements. Although the FTC declined to comment on the letter, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed disappointment about the leak and reiterated the company’s commitment to safety and consumer welfare.
During a House judiciary committee hearing, FTC Chair Lina Khan faced criticism from Republican lawmakers regarding her enforcement approach. While refraining from commenting on the investigation, she highlighted the broader concerns surrounding ChatGPT and similar AI services that consume vast amounts of data without sufficient checks on data nature.
Experts have raised concerns specifically about the extensive data collection performed by language models like ChatGPT. Shortly after its launch, OpenAI reported over 100 million monthly active users. OpenAI’s technology also powers Microsoft’s Bing search engine, which garnered over 1 million users across 169 countries within two weeks of its release.
Users have reported instances where ChatGPT fabricated names, dates, facts, and even provided false links to news websites and references to academic papers, commonly known as hallucinations within the industry.
The FTC’s investigation will explore technical aspects of ChatGPT’s design, including OpenAI’s efforts to address hallucinations and the oversight of human reviewers. Additionally, the probe will seek information on consumer complaints and OpenAI’s measures to assess users’ understanding of the chatbot’s accuracy and reliability.
In March, Italy’s privacy watchdog imposed a temporary ban on ChatGPT due to concerns over personal data collection after a cybersecurity breach. OpenAI responded by making its privacy policy more accessible and introducing age verification tools, leading to the restoration of the chatbot a few weeks later.
Altman acknowledged the limitations of ChatGPT, stating that OpenAI is transparent about its technology’s shortcomings and is not driven solely by unlimited profits due to its capped-profit structure. He emphasized the protection of user privacy and the system’s design, which focuses on learning about the world rather than specific individuals, leveraging years of safety research.
