The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently conducting an investigation into OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, to determine if they have violated consumer protection laws. The Washington Post was the first to report this news and has published the FTC’s civil investigative demand, which serves as a subpoena, outlining the areas of focus for the probe. CNBC has confirmed the authenticity of the document through a source familiar with the matter. The FTC, however, has chosen not to comment on the investigation at this time.
The FTC’s investigation will specifically look into whether OpenAI has engaged in practices that could be deemed unfair or deceptive with regards to privacy, data security, and the potential harm to consumers. This examination is particularly relevant as artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI, has become a significant topic of discussion among lawmakers. There is a growing need for regulations to safeguard intellectual property and consumer data, considering that generative AI relies on extensive datasets for learning purposes. The FTC and other regulatory bodies have made it clear that they possess the legal authority to address any harm caused by AI.
This investigation into OpenAI also exemplifies the FTC’s proactive approach towards overseeing emerging technologies, consistent with Chair Lina Khan’s commitment to a forward-looking perspective and focus on next-generation technologies.
The FTC’s civil investigative demand requests OpenAI’s disclosure of the third parties that have access to their large language models, information pertaining to their top customers or licensors, how they handle and utilize consumer data, the methods used to train their language models, and more. The document also inquires about OpenAI’s risk assessment procedures for language models and how they handle misleading or disparaging statements about individuals.
Additionally, the FTC’s demand addresses a bug OpenAI disclosed in March 2020, which inadvertently allowed some users to view another user’s chat history titles, potentially exposing payment-related information of a small percentage of active ChatGPT Plus subscribers during a specific time frame.
While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has generally received positive reception in Washington, with lawmakers commending his willingness to engage in discussions about the technology and potential regulations, some AI experts caution policymakers to consider OpenAI’s own motivations and encourage them to seek a diverse range of perspectives.
Altman took to Twitter expressing his disappointment in the leak of the FTC’s request, emphasizing the importance of building trust. He reiterated that OpenAI’s GPT-4 was developed with extensive safety research and underwent an additional six months of improvement before release. Altman also emphasized OpenAI’s commitment to user privacy and designing systems that learn from the world rather than individuals. OpenAI remains transparent about the limitations of their technology and acknowledges when they fall short.
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