Dean.Bot, which could converse with voters in real-time through a website, was an early use of an emerging technology that researchers have said could cause significant harm to elections. The bot included a disclaimer explaining that it was an AI tool and not the real Dean Phillips, and required that voters consent to its use. However, researchers have warned that such technologies could lull people into accepting a dangerous tool, even when disclaimers are in place. After The Post asked We Deserve Better about OpenAI’s prohibitions, Krisiloff said he had asked Delphi to remove ChatGPT from the bot and instead rely on open source technologies. The bot was taken down by Delphi late Friday in response to the suspension.
Key takeaways:
- OpenAI has banned the developer of a bot mimicking Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Dean Phillips, marking the first time the AI company has taken action against what it perceives as misuse of its tools in a political campaign.
- The bot was developed by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Matt Krisiloff and Jed Somers, who had started a super PAC supporting Phillips. The bot was powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT conversational software.
- OpenAI suspended the account of AI start-up Delphi, which had been contracted to build the bot, in response to a Washington Post story on the super PAC. OpenAI's rules ban the use of its technology in political campaigns.
- Despite the bot including a disclaimer that it was an AI tool and not the real Dean Phillips, researchers have warned that such technologies could cause significant harm to elections, potentially enabling mass robocalls and producing disinformation at scale.