The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation OpenAIThe artificial intelligence start-up that created ChatGPT is discussing whether the chatbot harmed consumers through the collection of data and publication of false information on individuals.
In a 20-page letter sent to the San Francisco company this week, the agency said it is also looking into OpenAI’s security practices. The FTC asked the company dozens of questions in its letter, including how the start-up trains its AI models and uses personal data.
there was an investigation told earlier This has been confirmed by The Washington Post and by a person familiar with the investigation.
The FTC investigation is the first major regulatory threat to OpenAI. Sam Altman, co-founder of the start-up, testified in Congress in May and said he has invited AI legislation to oversee the booming industry, which is under scrutiny because the technology could potentially eliminate jobs and spread misinformation.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When OpenAI first released ChatGPT in November, it immediately captured the public imagination with its ability to answer questions, write poetry, and more on almost any topic. But technology can mix fact with fiction and even create information, a phenomenon scientists call “hallucinations.”
ChatGPT is powered by what AI researchers call neural networks. It’s the same technology that translates between French and English on services like Google Translate and identifies pedestrians on city streets as self-driving cars. A neural network learns skills by analyzing data. For example, by pointing out patterns in thousands of cat photos, it can learn to recognize a cat.
Researchers at labs like OpenAI have designed neural networks that analyze massive amounts of digital text, including Wikipedia articles, books, news stories and online chat logs. These systems, known as large language models, have learned to generate text on their own, but may erroneously repeat information or combine facts in ways that produce false information.
Chatbots such as ChatGPT, which are also being deployed by companies such as Google and Microsoft, represent a major change in the way computer software is built and used. They set out to re-invent Internet search engines like Google Search and Bing, talking digital assistants like Alexa and Siri, and email services like Gmail and Outlook.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
