Detroit, Michigan – The use of chatbots in political campaigns has raised concerns about misinformation and ethics. OpenAI recently announced a ban on using its technology to create chatbots that mimic political candidates or spread false information related to voting. Additionally, the company prohibited the development of applications for political campaigns or lobbying.
Companies like LiveChatAI have been linked to powering chatbots for political campaigns, like the one used by the Kennedy campaign. While the underlying model of the Kennedy chatbot has not been disclosed, LiveChatAI has been noted for providing GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 powered customer support chatbots to businesses. The cofounder of LiveChatAI mentioned the use of technologies like Llama and Mistral, alongside GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, in their chatbots.
There has been speculation about the involvement of OpenAI’s models in the Kennedy campaign chatbot, although the company stated they had no direct indication of this. It was suggested that Microsoft’s services may be the avenue through which OpenAI’s models were being used. Microsoft has heavily invested in OpenAI, integrating ChatGPT models into their Bing search engine and Office 365 Copilot.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the Kennedy chatbot utilizes the capabilities of Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. They emphasized that customers are not bound by OpenAI’s terms of service and that the chatbot complied with Microsoft’s policies. Microsoft noted that they engage with customers to ensure the chatbot generates accurate responses within its intended context.
The removal of the Kennedy chatbot after concerns about misinformation and misuse highlights the challenges of regulating chatbots in political contexts. OpenAI is the first major language model to explicitly restrict the use of its technology in campaigning, while other companies like Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Mistral have terms of service that do not directly address political usage.
The debate around the ethical use of chatbots in political campaigns continues, with questions raised about how companies like OpenAI will enforce their policies effectively. As technology advances, the need for clear guidelines and regulations regarding the use of chatbots in sensitive contexts becomes increasingly important. The incident with the Kennedy chatbot serves as a reminder of the potential risks and implications of employing AI in political communication.