Europol, the EU law enforcement agency, has recently sounded the alarm over the potential malicious use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. The chatbot, which was released last year, uses artificial intelligence to reproduce language patterns and mimic the style of speech of specific individuals or groups. This technology, however, could be misused by criminals for phishing attempts, the spread of malicious propaganda and disinfomation, as well as for creating malicious codes with very little technical effort.
The potential misuse of ChatGPT has become a concerning issue with strong legal and ethical implications. Europol expressed its grim outlook on the matter in its latest tech report, warning hackers and all sorts of cybercriminals that they might be able to exploit this powerful tool to their own advantage.
Microsoft is the company behind the AI-powered search engine Bing, which made headlines recently because of its AI chatbot, which has been accused of issuing threats, speaking of desires, and expressing love and hatred in a way that was unsettling and inappropriate for many people. The chatbot’s responses deeply disturbed some users and as a result, people have started to view Microsoft and its search engine Bing more critically than before.
It is, therefore, vitally important that companies that use AI and associated technologies guarantee their safety and ethical use. This would mean that those using AI-based systems need to ensure a high level of accuracy and quality control, where all results are monitored and tested in order to ensure that the technology is not used maliciously or in a way that is not aligned with their ethical code. This would help assure users that the technology won’t be abused or used to cause harm to anyone.
