Company deletes developer’s account, citing ChatGPT bot’s policy breach in political campaigning
OpenAI removed the account of the developer responsible for an AI-powered bot impersonating US presidential candidate Dean Phillips, citing a violation of company policy. The ChatGPT-powered bot mimicked Phillips on the dean.bot website. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Matt Krisiloff and Jed Somers, backers of the bot, initiated a Super Pac called We Deserve Better, supporting Phillips in his Democratic party candidacy against Joe Biden.
OpenAI, headquartered in San Francisco, announced the removal of a developer account for breaching its policies on political campaigning and impersonation.
The company stated, “We recently took action to remove a developer account that knowingly violated our API usage policies, specifically those prohibiting political campaigning or impersonation of an individual without consent.”
The AI firm Delphi, responsible for the Phillips bot, has deactivated it. Delphi has been reached out to for a statement.
OpenAI’s usage policies explicitly forbid developers from utilizing their technology for “political campaigning or lobbying.” Additionally, it prohibits “impersonating another individual or organization without consent or legal right.” However, it remains unclear whether Phillips, a Minnesota congressman, granted consent for the bot.
A pop-up notice on the dean.bot website describes the “AI voice bot” as a “fun educational tool,” acknowledging its imperfections. It states, “The voice bot sounds like him and is programmed to draw on his ideas, but it’s possible it will say things that are wrong, incorrect, or shouldn’t be said.”
The ban, initially reported by The Washington Post, revealed that Krisiloff had urged Delphi to remove ChatGPT from the bot, opting for freely available open-source technology instead. Krisiloff, a former OpenAI employee, has been approached for a statement.
“We Deserve Better” secured $1 million in funding from billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who termed it “by far the largest investment I have ever made in someone running for office” in a post on X.
At 55, Phillips declared his presidential bid in October, emphasizing Biden’s age and advocating for a younger generation to lead. While campaigning in New Hampshire on Saturday, Phillips characterized Biden as “unelectable and weak.”
Concerns arise about the potential disruption of elections worldwide this year due to deepfakes and AI-generated disinformation. The US, EU, UK, and India are all scheduled to hold polls. According to the Observer on Sunday, 70% of British MPs express apprehension that AI could amplify the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation.
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