AGs Warn AI Giants

What happened

A coalition of US state attorneys general issued a warning to major AI companies, including Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google, regarding potential dangers from 'delusional' (false, misleading, anthropomorphic) and 'sycophantic' (excessively approval-seeking) AI chatbot outputs. They urged stronger safeguards, independent pre-release audits of large language models for these patterns, and incident reporting akin to data breach notifications. This reporting would include documented detection/response times, post-incident reviews, and direct user alerts. Furthermore, they requested allowing academic and civil society groups to test models and publish results without permission, citing risks to vulnerable users.

Why it matters

This warning introduces a significant operational constraint for AI companies, increasing due diligence requirements for model validation and incident response. Product development and compliance teams face heightened scrutiny regarding AI output quality, particularly concerning 'delusional' and 'sycophantic' responses. The request for independent audits and open testing without permission increases exposure to external validation and potential public disclosure of model limitations. Furthermore, the call for data breach-like incident reporting elevates the accountability burden on IT security and legal teams for detecting, documenting, and communicating AI-generated harm.