A New York business chatbot is sending out some particularly bad information

Date:
Mon, 01 Apr 2024 12:24:24 +0000

Description:
NYCs AI chatbot has been giving business customers the wrong answers, with potentially serious legal consequences.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

An AI chatbot released by the New York City government designed to assist business owners in accessing information has come under scrutiny for sharing inaccurate and misleading guidance.

A report by The Markup , co-published with local nonprofit newsrooms Documented and The City , reveal multiple instances where the chatbot
provided wrong advice about legal obligations.

For example, the AI chatbot claimed that bosses could accept workers tips and that landlords are allowed to discriminate based on source of income both wrong pieces of advice. Chatbot fail?

Launched in October 2023 by Mayor Adamss administration as an extension of
the MyCity portal, the chatbot, described as a one-stop shop for city
services and benefits, is powered by Microsofts Azure services. Despite its intention to serve as a reliable source of information sources directly from the city governments websites, the pilot program has been found to generate flawed responses.

One example given by The Markup sees the chatbot asserting that businesses could operate as cashless establishments, despite the New York Citys 2020 ban on such practices.

Responding to the report, Leslie Brown, spokesperson for the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation, acknowledged the chatbots imperfections, emphasizing ongoing efforts to refine the AI tool :

In line with the citys key principles of reliability and transparency around AI, the site informs users the clearly marked pilot beta product should only be used for business-related content, tells users there are potential risks, and encourages them via disclaimer to both double-check its responses with
the provided links and not use them as a substitute for professional advice.

After a months-long honeymoon period, the cracks are beginning to show as businesses and government agencies start to question the reliability, safety and security of artificial intelligence, with many imposing bans and others introducing strict regulations. More from TechRadar Pro EU passes landmark AI act, paving the way for greater AI regulation Draft your best work with the help of the best AI writers Check out the best cloud hosting providers



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/a-new-york-business-chatbot-is-sending-out-parti cularly-bad-information


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)