FTC investigating OpenAI over data collection and publication of false information

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating ChatGPT creator OpenAI over potential consumer harm through its data collection and publication of false information.

First reported by Washington Postthe FTC sent a 20-page letter to the company this week. Letter Requests documentation related to the development and training of its large language models, as well as data protection.

The FTC wants to receive detailed information on how OpenAI vets the information it uses in training for its models and how it prevents ChatGPT from showing false claims to users. It also wants to know more about how APIs connect to its systems and how data is protected when accessed by third parties.

The FTC declined to comment. OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This is the first major US investigation into OpenAI, which emerged in the public consciousness last year with the release of ChatGPT. The popularity of ChatGPT and the larger language model it powers started an AI arms race, prompting competitors such as Google and Meta to release their own models.

Large language models may give factually incorrect information. OpenAI warns ChatGPT users that it can sometimes generate false facts, and the first public demo of Google’s chatbot Bard doesn’t inspire confidence in its accuracy. And based on personal experience, both have spewed incredibly flattering, though completely invented, facts about me. Other people are having trouble using ChatGPT. An attorney was cleared for submitting fake cases created by ChatGPT, and a Georgia radio host sued the company for the results that he claimed accused him of embezzlement.

US lawmakers have shown great interest in AI, considering understanding the technology and possibly creating regulations around it. The Biden administration released a plan to provide a responsible framework for AI development, including a $140 million investment to start a research center. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch also discussed Potential Legal Liability of Chatbots earlier this year.

It is in this environment that AI leaders such as Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, have visited Washington. Altman lobbied Congress to create regulations around AI.