The European Consumer Organization has joined the chorus of alarm about ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots, urging EU consumer protection agencies to look into the technology and its potential for harm to individuals.
The growing popularity of Open AI’s ChatGPT, which can mimic humans and generate text and graphics based on cues, has prompted others to unveil similar tools, including Alphabet’s Google, Amazon’s cloud business AWS, and Meta Platforms.
BEUC, the umbrella body for 46 consumer organizations from 32 nations, expressed its concerns in separate letters to the network of consumer safety agencies and the network of consumer protection authorities earlier this month.
According to the lobby group, chatbot information that appears authentic and reputable but is frequently factually incorrect might mislead consumers and result in deceptive advertising. According to the report, younger customers and children are particularly sensitive to such dangers.
“BEUC thus asks you to investigate the risks that these AI systems pose to consumers as a matter of urgency, to identify their presence in consumer markets and to explore what remedial action must be taken to avoid consumer harm,” BEUC Deputy Director General Ursula Pachl wrote in a letter to the CPC network and the European Commission.
The organization also requested that the Consumer Safety Network initiate an information exchange and an investigation into the safety concerns of these items.