OpenAI, a leading AI research organization, has recently faced ethical and regulatory backlash over safety concerns related to its products. In response, the company has released a statement that aims to address these issues and assure the public that its products are safe. The statement, which was published on Thursday, is a hybrid of a rebuttal and an apology, acknowledging that there is room for improvement while also asserting that OpenAI is committed to ensuring safety is built into its system at all levels.
The safety pledge released by OpenAI comes in the wake of multiple controversies that have arisen over the past week. AI experts and industry leaders, including Steve Wozniak and Elon Musk, published an open letter calling for a six-month pause in the development of models like GPT-4. ChatGPT was flat-out banned in Italy, and a complaint was filed with the Federal Trade Commission for posing dangerous misinformation risks, particularly to children. Additionally, a bug was discovered that exposed users’ chat messages and personal information.
OpenAI has responded to these concerns by stating that it spent over six months rigorously testing GPT-4 before releasing it to the public. The company is also exploring verification options to enforce its over 18 age requirement (or 13 with parental approval). OpenAI has stressed that it does not sell personal data and only uses it to improve its AI models. The company has also expressed its willingness to collaborate with policymakers and continue collaborating with AI stakeholders to create a safe AI ecosystem.
However, while OpenAI has acknowledged that developing a safe LLM relies on real-world input, it has not provided much detail about how it plans to mitigate risk, enforce its policies, or work with regulators. The company has promised to provide more details about its approach to safety, but beyond its assurance to explore age verification, most of the announcement reads like boilerplate platitudes.
OpenAI prides itself on developing AI products with transparency, but the announcement provides little clarification about what it plans to do now that its AI is out in the wild. As AI continues to advance and become more integrated into our daily lives, it is crucial that companies like OpenAI take safety concerns seriously and work to address them in a transparent and effective manner.