OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research lab, has been slapped with its first-ever defamation lawsuit by CCW Broadcast Media CEO, Mark Walters. After Fred Riehl, editor-in-chief of pro-gun website, AmmoLand, asked ChatGPT to summarise the Second Amendment Foundation v. Robert Ferguson legal case, the chatbot produced a 30-page report that wrongly identified Walters as the treasurer and CFO of the SAF. Walters has accused OpenAI of defamation, claiming every factual statement in the report relating to him was false. He is seeking financial damages, which will be determined at the time of trial.
AI hallucinations such as these, in which a chatbot can fabricate details, are not uncommon but the case will test whether OpenAI can be held legally responsible for the false information. The report produced by the chatbot implicated Walters in the case, falsely accusing him of embezzling and misappropriating SAF’s funds and assets for his own benefit, and manipulating SAF’s financial records and bank statements to conceal his activities. The artificial intelligence lab has not yet responded to the legal action.
