The mayor of Hepburn Shire, Brian Hood, is considering filing a defamation case against ChatGPT, an AI product, for making false claims about his involvement in a bribery case. ChatGPT had repeatedly claimed that Hood served prison time for his involvement in a foreign bribery scandal that took place at the Reserve Bank of Australia in the early 2000s. However, Hood was actually the person who investigated the bribery case and notified authorities about the bribe payments. Throughout the case, he was never charged with a crime but was awarded currency printing contracts.
Hood’s friends and family informed him about ChatGPT’s false claims. Hood’s legal team requested OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, to make changes to the information and gave them a 28-day deadline. However, 15 days have passed, and OpenAI has not responded or made any changes to the details of the bribery case.
If OpenAI continues to ignore the request, and Hood’s legal team proceeds with the defamation case, it would be a historical case as Hood will become the first person to file a case against an AI chatbot. The case could potentially become a landmark moment for the application of defamation law to a new area of artificial intelligence and publication in the IT space.
Hood’s reputation as an elected official is central to his role, and it makes a difference to him if people in his community are accessing false material. James Naughton, a partner at Hood’s law firm, Gordon Legal, stated that the case would be a significant moment in the legal application of AI produce
Mayor Hood may soon file a defamation case against ChatGPT for making false claims about his involvement in a bribery case, which he actually helped to investigate and solve. If the case goes ahead, it would be the first time an AI chatbot is sued for defamation, potentially leading to a landmark moment in the legal application of AI products.
