Norwegian man falsely accused of murder by ChatGPT response leading to GDPR complaint
Summary
A Norwegian man named Arve Hjalmar Holmen filed a complaint against the company behind ChatGPT after the chatbot falsely claimed he had murdered his two sons. When Holmen asked ChatGPT, “Who is Arve Hjalmar Holmen?” the AI responded with a fabricated story stating he was a father whose sons were found dead in a pond in Trondheim in December 2020 and that he received a 21-year prison sentence. The complaint, filed with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, stated that Holmen has never been accused or convicted of any crime and that the false information could harm his personal life if shared. Holmen and the digital rights group Noyb alleged that the response violated GDPR accuracy provisions and requested that OpenAI adjust its model and face a fine. OpenAI responded that the version of ChatGPT involved has since been updated with online search capabilities to improve accuracy.
Incident Details
Deliberate or negligent spread of false or misleading information with harmful real-world effects.
False or misleading content spread without intent to deceive.
Who Was Affected
Sources
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