Australian mayor threatens to sue over alleged ChatGPT defamation, first case of its kind
- Brian Hood sent a legal notice to OpenAI after its web app wrongly implicated him in a bribery and corruption scandal – a crime he blew the whistle on
- ‘This critical error is an eye-opening example of the reputational harm that can be caused by AI systems such as ChatGPT’, his lawyer said
An Australian mayor may become the first person to sue the creators of ChatGPT over claims the AI-powered chatbot falsely labelled him a criminal.
Brian Hood sent a legal notice to parent company OpenAI last month after its web app wrongly implicated him in a bribery and corruption scandal – a crime he actually blew the whistle on.
ChatGPT has thrust artificial intelligence tools into the headlines, with intrepid users exploiting its impressive power to streamline everything from answering mundane emails to cheating on school exams.
But the mayor of Hepburn Shire – an area about two hours’ drive northwest of Melbourne – said Thursday that ChatGPT’s flaws had shocked him.
“I was horrified; I was stunned at first that it was so incorrect,” Hood told Australia’s national broadcaster. He said he had been alerted to the “disturbing” results from the app by friends and colleagues.
“It’s one thing to get something a little bit wrong; it’s entirely something else to be accusing someone of being a criminal and having served jail time when the truth was the opposite,” he said.