Ever looked yourself up on a chatbot? Meta AI accused me of a workplace scandal

It has been more than a year since ChatGPT launched into the mainstream, but chatbots have not stopped lying.

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In early May, I asked Meta AI, the latest chatbot to hit the masses to rival ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, "Who is Osmond Chia?" (Everyone does a little selfgoogling now and then, right?) The AI, built on Meta's large language model Llama 3, fabricated an elaborate biography, claiming that I am a Singaporean photographer who was jailed for sexual assault committed against models between 2016 and 2020. "His case drew widespread attention and outrage in Singapore, with many hailing the verdict as a victory for the #MeToo movement in the city-state." When asked to drill down, Meta

AI accused me of taking photos of victims without consent, adding to a list of 34 charges handed to me in court. It claimed Il victims came to testify during a prolonged trial.

Its citations showed that Meta AI had referred to my byline page on The Straits Times, leading me to assume that the chatbot had googled for my details but confused my identity with my headlines - possibly court cases I have covered.