Microsoft's Copilot falsely accuses court reporter of crimes he covered

Microsoft's Copilot has come under scrutiny after it falsely accused German court reporter Martin Bernklau of serious crimes, including child abuse and exploitation of dependents. Bernklau, who has reported on various legal cases for decades, was shocked to find these allegations generated by the AI when he entered his name into the system. The AI not only fabricated these accusations but also provided personal details, including his address and phone number. Despite Microsoft's attempts to remove the false claims, they reappeared shortly after. The public prosecutor's office in Tübingen stated that no crime had been committed since the accusations were not made by a real person. Bernklau is considering legal action, viewing the claims as defamatory and a violation of his privacy. This incident highlights the unreliability of large language models (LLMs) like Copilot, which generate responses based on statistical probabilities without a true understanding of facts. Such errors can lead to significant misinformation, as users may accept the AI's outputs without verifying the sources, raising concerns about the potential consequences of relying on these technologies for accurate information.

- Microsoft Copilot falsely accused journalist Martin Bernklau of serious crimes.

- The AI generated personal details and fabricated allegations based on Bernklau's reporting history.

- Microsoft temporarily removed the false claims, but they reappeared shortly after.

- The incident underscores the unreliability of large language models as research tools.

- Bernklau is considering legal action for defamation and privacy violations.