ChatGPT developer accused of spreading slander
Date: 2023-06-09 Categories: IN WORLD
According to court records, journalist Fred Real requested a summary of The Second Amendment Foundation embezzlement case against Robert Ferguson from ChatGPT, providing the document's URL. In the generated response, the bot erroneously named Mark Walters as the defendant, attributing him to allegations of fraud and embezzlement of funds for personal purposes.
However, in reality, the radio host is not a defendant in the case and has never worked in the mentioned organization.
“OpenAI defamed my client and made up outrageous lies about him,” Monroe said, explaining filing a complaint as the only way to protect Walters' honor.
The plaintiff of the original complaint, Alan Gottlieb, also confirmed that the claim made by ChatGPT was false.
Walters is now seeking fines and compensation from OpenAI for an undisclosed amount.
Monroe's lawyer is sure of victory, but not everyone shares his point of view. Cal Evans, staff legal counsel for Stonehouse Technology Group, pointed out that, as with most defamation suits, the victim will have to prove the damage caused to him.
“The lawsuit mentions ‘hallucinations’, but we must understand that this communication is not with a person, but with software that collates information from the Internet and transmits it,” Evans said.
AI "hallucinations" include cases where it generates incorrect results that are not supported by real data.
The ChatGPT interface has a disclaimer from OpenAI. He warns that the chatbot "may provide inaccurate information about people, places, or facts."
Evans believes that OpenAI can use exactly this approach to build a defense in court, since ChatGPT takes information from open sources already posted on the Internet.
