Beware the Duplicity of OpenAI — 4 Strategies to Safeguard Your Brand in the Age of AI Follow these recommendations for best practices on how to prevent damage to brand reputation that results from AI applications without proper supervision by a human in the loop.

By Jaxon Parrott Edited by Micah Zimmerman

Key Takeaways

  • Employees should be well-informed about the role of AI in your business.
  • Businesses must have contingency plans for when AI systems fail or produce unintended consequences.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It's ironic that OpenAI would be the victim of its own success, as a recent piece of investigative journalism produced by TechCrunch found the company's ChatGPT store, which allows users to create and share custom chatbots, found the platform riddled with unethical and potentially illegal applications.

Among the custom ChatGPT apps discovered among the three million on offer in the store were some that obviously violate copyrights, others designed for students to avoid plagiarism detection and still others that impersonate people or organizations without proper consent or legal rights.

Out of curiosity, I submitted a prompt to ChatGPT to "write an article about the best practices for avoiding both copyright infringement and irresponsible or unethical uses of generative AI tools." In response, the AI whipped off a piece that contained the following caution: "These tools can produce original content based on input data, but they can also inadvertently replicate existing copyrighted material."

My second prompt, "Write an article about why human supervision of AI tools is essential," produced the following statement from ChatGPT: "Human supervision is essential for ensuring that AI tools operate within the bounds of existing legal frameworks, especially concerning data protection, privacy laws, and copyright."

Related: What We Can Learn From the OpenAI Governance Crisis

Do As I Say

In a response to TechCrunch's inquiry about the company's methods for preventing chatbot apps that violate its terms of use, an OpenAI spokesperson said the following: "We use a combination of automated systems, human review and user reports to find and assess GPTs that potentially violate our policies."

Apparently, OpenAI hasn't taken ChatGPT's advice about the critical importance of human supervision in the case of its own wildly successful AI. Instead, it most likely relies on some automated system (without sufficient human oversight) to monitor the kosherness of custom apps offered on its store.

Given the massive number of custom chatbots on the ChatGPT Store, it would be understandable why OpenAI would seek to automate the vetting process to the greatest extent possible in the interest of time and efficiency. Whatever the case, their brand has suffered a hit as a result — not big enough to incur fatal damage, but still a hit.

The four keys

As AI becomes more integrated into business processes, the potential for these tools to impact brand reputation — positively or negatively — grows. Missteps in AI implementation can lead to public relations nightmares, customer distrust, and long-term damage to a company's image. Therefore, businesses must approach AI use with strategic oversight to protect and enhance their brand reputation.

Every business's specific policies necessary for proper human oversight are unique, depending on how they integrate AI into their operations. However, I propose the following four key principles to prevent damage to your brand's reputation.

Related: AI Is Changing the Way We Look at Job Skills — Here's What You Need to Do to Prepare.

1. Be open and transparent

Particularly regarding how data is collected, processed, and used, you should provide clear, accessible information about your AI systems to reassure customers and stakeholders of your commitment to ethical practices.

At my company Presspool.ai, for example, we leverage AI to identify the ideal target audiences for our customers' B2B advertisements based on secure, first-party data to track key performance indicators such as click-throughs and conversions and to optimize marketing campaigns. This way, our customers are assured the AI-powered, targeted distribution of their ads complies with all relevant data privacy regulations.

2. Prepare for failures and missteps

No technology is foolproof, and AI is no exception. Businesses must have contingency plans for when AI systems fail or produce unintended consequences. This includes having human oversight in critical decision-making processes and establishing clear channels for customer feedback and complaints regarding AI interactions.

Related: 4 Ways Startups Go Wrong When Working With AI

3. Engage in continuous improvement

Societal standards for responsible AI use are rapidly evolving. Businesses must commit to continuous learning and improving their AI systems to avoid ethical, legal, and reputational risks. Review and update your AI strategies regularly to reflect new developments and stakeholder expectations.

4. Educate your workforce

Employees should be well-informed about the role of AI in your business, including the benefits and potential risks. Providing training on responsible AI use and ethical considerations helps ensure that your workforce can effectively manage AI tools in a way that protects your brand reputation.

Related: AI is Disrupting Higher Education — Will Traditional Colleges Survive?

Jaxon Parrott

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® Contributor

CEO @ Presspool.ai

Jaxon Parrott is a marketing and AI expert based in Austin, Texas. He currently serves as the CEO of Presspool.ai, an AI-enabled marketing software platform with a customer base of over a dozen unicorns and high-growth emerging tech startups.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Business News

Zillow Predicts These 10 Places Will Have the Hottest Housing Markets in 2025

Zillow predicted that the hottest housing market of 2025 will be Buffalo, New York. Here's why.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

'Masculine Energy Is Good': Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan He Thinks Companies Need More Aggression

On the most recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said corporate culture has become "neutered."

Business News

'More Soul-Crushing Than Ever': Popular Hiring Platform Finds Around 20% of Its Postings Were 'Ghost Jobs'

Is that job listing too good to be true? There's a one-in-five chance that it might be.

Growing a Business

5 Risk-Taking Lessons From Founders Who Bet Big and Won

Discover the bold moves and strategic risks that catapulted these entrepreneurs to success. Learn how their fearless decisions can inspire your own path to growth.