Irish civil rights group files complaint against EU Commission over use of ChatGPT

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman, accusing the European Commission of using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in public documents, broadcaster RTE reported Monday.

According to the ICCL, a commission response to an access-to-documents request revealed that at least one link was generated through OpenAI's ChatGPT.

The group cautioned that generative AI systems can be prone to errors and emphasized the EU institutions' responsibility to ensure the accuracy of public information.

"Public bodies like the European Commission should always be transparent and disclose if a generative AI tool is used in any public document, even if the output from such tools has been assessed by their staff," said ICCL Enforce Senior Fellow Kris Shrishak in a written statement.

According to Shrishak, any such disclosure should mention the specific tools involved to ensure transparency.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said, according to RTE, it has clear internal guidelines for staff on using AI and that, while the commission relies on its own AI tool in daily work, all use remains under human oversight.