"US FTC opens investigation into OpenAI over misleading statements", 13 July 2023

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened an investigation into OpenAI on claims it has run afoul of consumer protection laws by putting personal reputations and data at risk, the strongest regulatory threat to the Microsoft-backed startup yet.

The FTC this week sent a 20-page demand for records about how OpenAI — the maker of generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT — addresses risks tied to its AI models. The agency is probing if OpenAI engaged in unfair practices that resulted in "reputational harm" to consumers...

...One of the questions FTC has asked OpenAI pertains to steps the company has taken to address its products' potential to "generate statements about real individuals that are false, misleading, or disparaging."..

...The Washington Post was the first to report the probe. The FTC declined comment, while OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a series of tweets on Thursday that the latest version of the company's technology, GPT-4, was built on years of safety research and the systems were designed to learn about the world and not private individuals...