The US Federal Trade Commission has sent a request for information to startup OpenAI Inc. as part of a probe into its ChatGPT conversational AI bot, according to a person familiar with the request. The document request was sent recently to the Microsoft Corp.-backed AI company seeking information on whether ChatGPT harms consumers, according to the person, who asked not to be named discussing a non-public investigation. FTC Chair Lina Khan, who is set to appear before Congress Thursday, has raised concerns about AI, saying enforcers "need to be vigilant early" with transformative tools like artificial intelligence. The Washington Post earlier reported on the FTC's probe.

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) across various sectors has led to human decision-making being progressively replaced by data-fed algorithms. With 42 percent of companies around the world reporting their exploration of AI adoption in 2022, algorithms have more power over our everyday lives than ever before. The adoption of automated processing means faster and more efficient decisions that can transform outcome accuracy while lowering costs. But these advantages are associated with serious concerns over biases and consumer harms. Training data that is incomplete, unrepresentative, or has historical biases reflected in it will lead to an algorithm that reproduces the same patterns.