The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) joined the chorus of those concerned about ChatGPT and others “chatbot” of artificial intelligence, asking the European Union consumer protection agencies to investigate the technology and possible harm to people.
The growing popularity of ChatGPT from Open AIwhich is backed by Microsoft and is capable of imitating humans and creating text and images from instructions, has encouraged other companies such as Google, from Alphabet; to AWS, Amazon’s cloud division; and to Meta Platforms to announce similar tools.
The BEUCwhich brings together 46 consumer organizations from 32 countries, set out its concerns in two letters sent at the beginning of the month to the Network of Consumer Safety Authorities (CSN Network) and to the Network of Consumer Protection Authorities (CPC Network).
The pressure group affirms that the contents produced by the “chatbot”, which appear truthful and reliable but are often incorrect, can mislead consumers and lead to misleading advertising. Younger consumers and children are more vulnerable to these risks.
“Therefore, the BEUC asks you to urgently investigate the risks that these AI systems pose to consumers, to identify their presence in consumer markets and to study what corrective measures must be taken to avoid harm to consumers.“, wrote ursula pachldeputy director general of the BEUCin the letter addressed to the CPC network and the European Commission.
The group also asked the CSN Network to initiate an exchange of information and an investigation on the security risks of these products.
Source: Reuters
Source: Gestion

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