OpenAI's artificial intelligence service ChatGPT is the hottest new tool for businesses and freelance creators. And while its abilities are still evolving, experts are nervous about the potential outcomes of the technology.
Whether it's programmers using the service to help program source code or students using the service to "fast-track" a term paper, many institutions are worried about the risks involved with AI-generated output. But writer Lance Eliot is more concerned about what we're putting into the bot.
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After digging through the legal jargon of OpenAI's terms of service agreement, Eliot warns that users could open themselves up for some major lawsuits--and in this instance, ChatGPT comes out legally scot-free. The author poses a hypothetical circumstance to illustrate.
"Let's say that someone comes forward and claims that your service or work effort has allegedly caused them harm. They decide to sue you." He goes on to explain that this person would also likely target OpenAI for providing the platform. That's fine, OpenAI can afford it.
But in this scenario, someone would be pretty shocked to find out that they signed the OpenAI licensing agreement--which includes an indemnification charge. Essentially, the user is responsible for all expenses (including attorneys' fees). These kinds of clauses aren't unusual--but ChatGPT's capabilities exceed that of other sites like Twitter or Meta's (META) Facebook and Instagram.
Eliot goes on to walk readers through the chatbot's Terms of Service. Perhaps it's better to know them now rather than have the rules and legal implications surprise you down the road.
