Law professor falsely accused of sexual misconduct by ChatGPT

On Thursday, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley revealed that he had been falsely accused of sexual harassment– not by a human being, but by ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-powered information generator.

Every part of the report spit out by the program was fabricated, highlighting the dangers posed by the growing popularity of artificial intelligence in society.

"Yesterday, President Joe Biden declared that 'it remains to be seen' whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) is 'dangerous'," Turley wrote on Twitter. "I would beg to differ..." 

He went on to explain that while "falsely reported on a claim of sexual harassment that was never made against me on a trip that never occurred while I was on a faculty where I never taught," ChapGPT "relied on a cited [a Washington Post] article that was never written and quotes a statement that was never made by the newspaper."

Turley explained that he had been contacted by UCLA's Eugene Volokh, who informed him that his name had come up in a report generated by ChatGPT about sexual misconduct by professors. The program had accused him of acting inappropriately while on a trip to Alaska in 2018.



Turley posted ChatGPT's response, pointing out the "glaring indicators" that it was all nonsense.

"First, I have never taught at Georgetown University," he explained. "Second, there is no such Washington Post article. Finally, and most important, I have never taken students on a trip of any kind in 35 years of teaching, never went to Alaska with any student, and I’ve never been been accused of sexual harassment or assault."

Turley went on to slam those who have pushed for artificial intelligence to be injected into more aspects of society, warning that we don't yet know what the technology is capable of.

In recent weeks, Twitter has been spammed with "deepfakes" of politicians and other famous figures, a phenomenon some have warned could wreak havoc on political discourse.