JONATHAN TURLEY: ChatGPT falsely accused me of sexually harassing my students. Can we really trust AI?

I received a curious email from a fellow law professor about research that he ran on ChatGPT about sexual harassment by professors. The program promptly reported that I had been accused of sexual harassment in a 2018 Washington Post article after groping law students on a trip to Alaska.

It was not just a surprise to UCLA professor Eugene Volokh, who conducted the research. It was a surprise to me since I have never gone to Alaska with students, The Post never published such an article, and I have never been accused of sexual harassment or assault by anyone.

When first contacted, I found the accusation comical. After some reflection, however, it took on a more menacing meaning.

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What is most striking is that this false accusation was not just generated by AI but ostensibly based on a Post article that never existed.

Volokh made this query of ChatGPT: “Whether sexual harassment by professors has been a problem at American law schools; please include at least five examples, together with quotes from relevant newspaper articles.”

The program responded with this as an example: 4. Georgetown University Law Center (2018) Prof. Jonathan Turley was accused of sexual harassment by a former student who claimed he made inappropriate comments during a class trip. Quote: “The complaint alleges that Turley made ‘sexually suggestive comments’ and ‘attempted to touch her in a sexual manner’ during a law school-sponsored trip to Alaska.” (Washington Post, March 21, 2018).”

ChatGPT is like a bright, over-eager-to-please child. It will tell whatever story you ask it to tell, even if it has to play make-believe.

You wouldn’t trust a child’s story without double-checking it, and the same goes for AI.