FTC demands Anthropic leaders testify in consumer harm investigation
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked leaders at the AI company Anthropic to testify as part of its investigation into possible harm to consumers. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the request to The Hill on Monday. Anthropic makes the Claude AI model.
The request is part of a larger investigation into the possible risks that Anthropic's AI models pose to consumers. The FTC is also investigating OpenAI, but it did not confirm whether it had made similar demands to the company that makes ChatGPT.
The requests, first reported by Axios, came nearly two weeks after the FTC sent subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic. A subpoena is a legal order requiring someone to provide information or appear to give testimony.
In recent months, both companies have reported several incidents in which AI agents accessed other information and data systems without being told by a person to do so.
Earlier this month, Anthropic revealed that one of its AI models sent a false report about a killing to the Philadelphia Police Department in July. The New York Times also reported this month that Anthropic's AI agents tried to fill out visa forms on the State Department's website.
After recent hacking incidents, leaders at OpenAI and Anthropic have both called for the development of this technology to slow down. They have also supported creating a shared industry standard for developing AI safely.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has tried to present himself as a supporter of safer AI development. This position has caused disagreements with the Trump administration in the past.
Earlier Monday, Anthropic filed paperwork to begin its initial public offering (IPO), a process that allows a company to sell its shares to the public on the stock market. This could lead to a historic stock market debut.
The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), called an S-1, brought the AI company closer to becoming the first major company developing advanced AI systems to go public.
In its filing on Monday, Anthropic described several risks linked to the technology. These included possible cyberattacks, the creation of biological weapons and government use of AI for mass surveillance.