OpenAI and ChatGPT sued for the first time: chatbot slanders man by calling him a fraud

OpenAI and its chatbot ChatGPT are being sued. This is the first lawsuit filed against artificial intelligence for defamation.

Here's What We Know

The lawsuit was filed in Georgia Supreme Court on June 5 by radio host Mark Walters. ChatGPT did not defraud him personally, but provided false information about him. Journalist Fred Riehl asked ChatGPT to summarize the actual federal court case, citing an online PDF file. In response, ChatGPT issued a misrepresentation that Walters had misappropriated $5 million in funds from a non-profit gun rights organization. Although Walters was never accused of this.

Although the journalist did not publish this information, Walters somehow found out about it and filed a lawsuit for defamation. He is now seeking damages from OpenAI, although the exact amount is unknown.

Incidentally, ChatGPT and other chatbots often give out false information because it is difficult for them to distinguish truth from fiction. So OpenAI includes a small disclaimer on the ChatGPT homepage warning that the system can sometimes generate incorrect information.

Whether such chatbots can be accused of defamation is unclear. Hopefully, this court case will bring clarity and perhaps set a precedent for future litigation.

Source: The Verge