Ethics group asks US Trade Commission to stop new versions of GPT-4

Tech Ethics Group Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy (Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy) called on the US Federal Trade Commission to prevent Open AI release new commercial versions of GPT-4, which has captivated some users and distressed others with its quick and humane responses to questions.

In a complaint filed Thursday with the agency, a summary of which is posted on the group’s website, the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy called GPT-4 “biased, misleading, and a risk to privacy and public safety.”

OpenAI, which is based in California and is backed by Microsoftunveiled in early March the fourth iteration of its GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) AI program, which has excited users by engaging them in human-like conversations, composing songs, and summarizing long documents.

The formal complaint to the Commission follows a letter sent by Elon Musk, AI experts and industry executives calling for a six-month pause on development of systems more powerful than the recently launched GPT-4, citing potential risks to the society.

The group in its complaint said that OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 does not meet the FTC’s standard of being “transparent, explainable, fair, and empirically sound while encouraging accountability.”

The FTC has a clear responsibility to investigate and prohibit unfair and deceptive business practices. We believe the FTC should take a close look at OpenAI and GPT-4,” said Marc Rotenberg, CAIDP president and veteran privacy advocate, in a statement on the website.

Rotenberg was one of more than 1,000 signatories to the letter urging a pause on AI experiments.

The group urged the FTC to “open an investigation into OpenAI, ban new commercial versions of GPT-4, and ensure necessary safeguards are in place to protect consumers, businesses, and the commercial marketplace.”