OpenAI, a leader in the development of artificial intelligence technologies, is currently at the center of a privacy complaint in Austria, filed by the data rights group Noyb. The complaint accuses OpenAI’s ChatGPT of spreading false information about an individual and potentially violating European Union privacy laws.
Summary
OpenAI by Sam Altman accused of spreading false information about people: the complaint in Austria
The complaint was filed by Noyb on April 29, alleging that OpenAI does not address inaccuracies in the information provided by its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, regarding an anonymous public figure.
Despite the requests of the figure, OpenAI would have refused to correct or delete inaccurate data and has not disclosed the sources of its training data.
This refusal could constitute a violation of the strict EU data protection regulations, designed to safeguard individuals’ personal information and ensure data accuracy.
Noyb’s complaint highlights a significant challenge in the field of artificial intelligence: the balance between technological advancement and individuals’ privacy rights.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU states that personal data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; all reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that inaccurate personal data is erased or rectified without delay.
Maartje de Graaf, a data protection lawyer from Noyb, stated: “If a system cannot produce accurate and transparent results, it cannot be used to generate data on individuals.”
Technology must follow legal requirements, not the other way around.” This statement emphasizes the legal expectation that AI technologies must not only advance in capabilities, but also align with established legal frameworks that protect the rights of individuals.
The investigation of the Austrian authority
The Austrian data protection authority is investigating OpenAI’s data processing methods, particularly how it ensures the accuracy of personal data processed by its large language models.
This survey could set a precedent on how data accuracy issues are handled in the field of AI throughout the European Union.
Noyb, acronym for “None of Your Business”, operates from Vienna and is known for its commitment to enforcing EU data protection standards. It strategically focuses on cases that have broad implications for digital rights in Europe.
In Europe, similar concerns arose when a study revealed that Microsoft’s Bing AI chatbot, renamed Copilot, provided misleading information during local elections in Germany and Switzerland.
Even Gemini AI by Google is criticized for producing inaccurate and biased images, prompting Google to apologize and commit to updating the model.
Conclusions
These examples illustrate the growing challenges in integrating AI into everyday applications, where the accuracy of information and compliance with privacy laws become of fundamental importance.
The outcome of Noyb’s complaint against OpenAI could have significant implications for AI developers, potentially requiring them to implement stricter measures of data accuracy and transparency to comply with EU law.
As AI technologies become more integrated into society, the challenge for developers like OpenAI is to ensure that their products not only push the boundaries of what is technologically possible.
