The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has raised concerns about ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots. BEUC has asked EU consumer protection agencies to investigate the technology and its potential to cause harm to individuals. Microsoft-backed Open AI, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon’s cloud division AWS and Meta Platforms have all announced similar tools, sparking the interest of the organisation.
The group suggested that content generated by the chatbots may give incorrect and misleading information which could lead to deceptive advertising, particularly aimed at younger consumers and children. BEUC sent a letter to the network of consumer safety authorities (CSN network) and the network of consumer protection authorities (CPC network) urging them to look into the potential risks.
ChatGPT is a tool developed by Open AI. It is used to generate text and images based off of prompts. Fears have been raised that this technology may be used to manipulate individual’s digital engagement. The growth of artificial intelligence chatbots needs to be monitored to ensure that consumers are not taken advantage of. These large-scale companies have a responsibility to protect the public from any digital deception.
Investigations are ongoing, as consumers and organisations around the world come to terms with the potential implications of ChatGPT. The European Consumer Organisation is just one of a handful of entities championing the call for greater awareness of the risks of artificial intelligence chatbots. It is up to the members of the CSN and CPC networks to ensure that the technology is used responsibly and any potential dangers are identified and addressed. It is expected that the findings of the investigations will lead to necessary safety and protection measures being taken to protect consumers in the future.
