ChatGPT faces world's first defamation lawsuit in Australia: media

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A regional Australian mayor Brian Hood said he's preparing to sue OpenAI as the company’s ChatGPT incorrectly described him as a guilty party in a bribery scandal.

The defamation lawsuit, if filed, would likely be the first against the Microsoft-backed tech company over its ChatGPT generative AI platform, which writes text based on user prompts, according to Reuters’ report.

The Australian Information Industry Association, the industry peak body, said Australia was now at a point where there was a need for "guidelines" and "guardrails". The group said the absence of a specific policy on AI was a major obstacle to the sector. It recommended Australia pay close attention to the AI Act in the EU.

According to Reuters, the Australian government requested advice on how to respond to AI from Australia's main science advisory body and is considering next steps, a spokesperson for the industry and science minister said on April 12.