Recent Class-Action Lawsuits Against Google and OpenAI, and an FTC Investigation Into ChatGPT, Could Affect Businesses that Use AI. We Know an AI Company That Is Safer to Use in 2023.

After a half year and change of unprecedented “go go go” innovation in the world of A.I. led and funded by the biggest names in tech, the legal system is finally giving these companies a clear message through class-action lawsuits: Slow your roll.

Specifically, Google and OpenAI (which Microsoft largely backs) will encounter significant challenges in the coming years, which may affect businesses utilizing A.I.

What Happened?

In the case of OpenAI, the comedian Sarah Silverman is suing because the company trained ChatGPT using her book without first seeking her permission to use the copyrighted book.

With Google, there are multiple individuals that are choosing to sue the company’s practices for obtaining training data. The claim is that the company is obtaining data in a way that violates the privacy of many Internet users. For this reason, the plaintiffs say that they are doing this on behalf of millions of Internet users.

How Big Are the Class-Action AI Lawsuits?

Since these are only a small number of individuals here, there is definitely a David vs. Goliath quality to these lawsuits.

However, you should anticipate there being a snowball effect here, where more lawsuits may build. This is the land of the free, after all, and there are plenty of people out there who are looking to exercise their freedom to sue multibillion dollar companies.

If such class-action lawsuits accumulate, then there could be potentially devastating effects on these A.I. platforms, which could result in different impacts on businesses that use A.I. We’ll go into some of the possible impacts, some good and some bad, below.

#1: It Might Get Costlier to Use ChatGPT Post-Class Action Lawsuits

You may be saying to this, “Well, at least ChatGPT is still free.”

The reality is that it won’t be free forever. Besides, plenty of businesses invest in ChatGPT Plus already. Even then, ChatGPT is still really just in a trial phase, and it will become much more costly once OpenAI feels confident enough in its powers to charge more money for it. That will probably happen sooner than later, to cover the costs of the expensive legal fees in class-action lawsuits that the company will be paying over the coming months.

#2: A.I. That Is Trained on Less Data Will Perform Worse

The phrase “quality in, quality out” certainly applies to chatbots.

When there is less quality material available to train generative A.I. on, then the quality of the outputs will ultimately suffer.

For your business, this means that you will need to put in more time and effort improving the outputs of generative A.I.

#3: Data Privacy Will Likely Be Taken More Seriously

Many people view this as a positive aspect because it indicates that A.I. companies seeking to train their platforms are less likely to harvest your personal data.

For business owners, this could inspire mixed feelings. As an individual, you may enjoy greater privacy. But in running a business, it can pay off to have wider access to data, including data about your customer base. With more restrictions, it can be harder to gain insights into your customers.

#4: There May Be Better Security for A.I. Systems

One of the major reasons that big businesses have banned the use of ChatGPT is that there are many security vulnerabilities to the system.

If A.I. companies are required to meet certain security standards following these lawsuits, then you can rest assured knowing that the data that you give A.I. platforms about your business will be better protected.

Isn’t OpenAI Also Getting Investigated by the Federal Trade Commission?

Yes, this is true. The concerns are basically the same as in the lawsuit: ChatGPT’s data privacy practices may be bad for users.

If the investigation leads to government pressure on ChatGPT, this will further intensify the above-named impacts on your business.

What A.I. Company Is Worth Partnering With?

IBM is the clear winner here, partly because of its long experience with offering A.I. to businesses.

By partnering with Guardian Owl Digital, you can gain access to a suite of IBM Watson services, as well as additional industry-oriented A.I. platforms offered by Findability Sciences. This stretches far beyond just text-generation into all manner of A.I. that can boost your marketing efforts and optimize your operations.

IBM Has Been Sitting on a Treasure Trove of Data for Years

IBM has been offering businesses A.I. for years now, which means that they have been generating useful data through their own A.I. works.

Specifically, over a decade’s worth of data.

Because of this, IBM is less likely to use any desperate data-grabbing practices for the training of their A.I. systems. The data that they have was won fair and square, which means that they are much less likely to be sued over for copyright or privacy infringements.

Interested in using IBM Watson for your business? Reach out to Guardian Owl Digital today so that you can GO AI.