The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking action against five companies for allegedly deceptively advertising AI products. At the center is DoNotPay, which touted itself as the “world’s first robot lawyer.” The company must now pay a $193,000 fine and inform customers of the limitations of its AI chatbot. According to the FTC, DoNotPay did not test whether the AI’s performance was equivalent to that of a human lawyer, nor did it employ lawyers to do so.
Four other companies – Ascend Ecom, Ecommerce Empire Builders, Rytr and FBA Machine – are also facing legal action. They are accused of deceiving consumers with false promises about AI-powered services. FTC chief Lina Khan emphasizes that there are no exemptions from consumer protection laws for AI products. The agency’s “Operation AI Comply” campaign aims to crack down on deceptive practices in the AI sector.
Sources: VentureBeat, Ars Technica