OpenAI, the creator of the AI chatbot ChatGPT and other related products, has reportedly received a criminal investigative demand (CID) from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States, as reported by The Washington Post on July 13. A CID is akin to a subpoena, requiring the recipient to comply with the information requests.
The FTC is initiating an investigation into OpenAI’s potential use of “unfair or deceptive privacy or data security practices” and “unfair or deceptive practices relating to risks of harm to consumers, including reputational harm.”
The CID suggests that the agency is also contemplating the imposition of a monetary penalty if the alleged practices are deemed to be against the public interest.
The 20-page document contains 49 detailed questions and requests 17 categories of documents for the investigation.
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OpenAI has been given a 14-day deadline to contact an FTC counsel to discuss how it intends to address the demands put forth by the agency.
Among the inquiries posed by the FTC in the CID are questions regarding the specific large language models used in OpenAI’s products, their application, training methodologies, and mechanisms to ensure accuracy.
The document also touches on advertising policies, risk assessments, personal information collection and protection, determination of “public figure” status, and procedures for handling feedback and complaints.
The introduction of Microsoft-backed ChatGPT on November 30 caused significant ripples in the IT industry.
Its powerful capabilities prompted concerns about potential implications, and competitors hurried to keep up with the technology.
Unsurprisingly, this triggered a wave of investigations in numerous countries. A letter signed by 2,600 tech figures, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, called for a moratorium on AI development.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also testified on AI safety before the United States Senate.
OpenAI has additionally faced legal challenges. In June, a class action lawsuit was filed in the Northern California District Court, accusing the company of unauthorized scraping of personal data from the internet.
Furthermore, popular authors Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay filed a copyright infringement suit against OpenAI, and comedian Sarah Silverman, along with two other authors, sued OpenAI and Meta the following month, alleging the use of illegal “shadow libraries” in training their AI.
It remains to be seen how OpenAI will navigate these investigations and legal proceedings, which have significant implications for the company and the broader AI industry.
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