By Jody Godoy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Commerce Fee introduced actions in opposition to 5 corporations on Wednesday that it stated used synthetic intelligence in misleading and unfair methods.
Three of the instances suspended operations at companies that purported to assist customers generate passive revenue by opening e-commerce storefronts. The FTC additionally settled with an organization known as DoNotPay over its declare to supply automated authorized providers, and with Rytr, an AI writing device that the company stated provided a function that permits customers to generate pretend product opinions.
“Utilizing AI instruments to trick, mislead, or defraud folks is illegitimate,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan stated in a press release. “The FTC’s enforcement actions clarify that there isn’t any AI exemption from the legal guidelines on the books.”
DoNotPay agreed to pay $193,000 and provides clients who subscribed to its service between 2021 and 2023 discover concerning the limitations of its authorized function.
Rytr agreed to cease offering evaluate era providers, which the FTC stated some subscribers used to generate hundreds of opinions by a device to make “convincing” or “important” posts with scant person enter.
Rytr and DoNotPay didn’t admit wrongdoing within the settlements. Their attorneys didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
The 2 instances illustrated inner debate inside the FTC about how the regulator ought to method AI. Whereas all 5 commissioners agreed it ought to take motion in opposition to false claims about AI providers, the 2 Republican commissioners criticised the motion in opposition to Rytr.