American radio host Mark Walters is suing ChatGPT developer OpenAI after a chatbot mistakenly listed him as a defendant in a criminal case. About it Decrypt plaintiff’s attorney, John Monroe.
According to judicial materialsjournalist Fred Reel asked ChatGPT for a summary of the embezzlement case The Second Amendment Foundation vs. Robert Fergusonby providing the URL of this document. In the generated response, the bot erroneously named Mark Walters as the defendant, attributing him to allegations of fraud and embezzlement of funds for personal purposes.
However, in reality, the radio host is not a defendant in the case and has never worked in the mentioned organization.
“OpenAI defamed my client and made up outrageous lies about him,” Monroe said, explaining filing a complaint as the only way to protect Walters’ honor.
The plaintiff of the original complaint, Alan Gottlieb, also confirmed that the claim made by ChatGPT was false.
Walters is now seeking fines and compensation from OpenAI for an undisclosed amount.
Monroe’s lawyer is sure of victory, but not everyone shares his point of view. Cal Evans, staff legal counsel for Stonehouse Technology Group, pointed out that, as with most defamation suits, the victim will have to prove the damage caused to him.
“The lawsuit mentions ‘hallucinations’, but we must understand that this communication is not with a person, but with software that collates information from the Internet and transmits it,” Evans said.
AI “hallucinations” include cases where it generates incorrect results that are not supported by real data.
The ChatGPT interface has a disclaimer from OpenAI. He warns that the chatbot “may provide inaccurate information about people, places, or facts.”
Evans believes that OpenAI can use exactly this approach to build a defense in court, since ChatGPT takes information from open sources already posted on the Internet.
Forklog previously reported that a lawyer at the law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman faces penalties for using ChatGPT while preparing documents for a client’s case.
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American radio host Mark Walters is suing ChatGPT developer OpenAI after a chatbot mistakenly listed him as a defendant in a criminal case. About it Decrypt plaintiff’s attorney, John Monroe.
According to judicial materialsjournalist Fred Reel asked ChatGPT for a summary of the embezzlement case The Second Amendment Foundation vs. Robert Fergusonby providing the URL of this document. In the generated response, the bot erroneously named Mark Walters as the defendant, attributing him to allegations of fraud and embezzlement of funds for personal purposes.
However, in reality, the radio host is not a defendant in the case and has never worked in the mentioned organization.
“OpenAI defamed my client and made up outrageous lies about him,” Monroe said, explaining filing a complaint as the only way to protect Walters’ honor.
The plaintiff of the original complaint, Alan Gottlieb, also confirmed that the claim made by ChatGPT was false.
Walters is now seeking fines and compensation from OpenAI for an undisclosed amount.
Monroe’s lawyer is sure of victory, but not everyone shares his point of view. Cal Evans, staff legal counsel for Stonehouse Technology Group, pointed out that, as with most defamation suits, the victim will have to prove the damage caused to him.
“The lawsuit mentions ‘hallucinations’, but we must understand that this communication is not with a person, but with software that collates information from the Internet and transmits it,” Evans said.
AI “hallucinations” include cases where it generates incorrect results that are not supported by real data.
The ChatGPT interface has a disclaimer from OpenAI. He warns that the chatbot “may provide inaccurate information about people, places, or facts.”
Evans believes that OpenAI can use exactly this approach to build a defense in court, since ChatGPT takes information from open sources already posted on the Internet.
Forklog previously reported that a lawyer at the law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman faces penalties for using ChatGPT while preparing documents for a client’s case.
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