TECH NEWS – The AI firm’s research claims that the country attempted to influence social media and targeted journalists and politicians.

OpenAI has revolutionized artificial intelligence with ChatGPT. The company has come a long way; its services have been integrated into many areas, including healthcare and education. However, OpenAI has reportedly identified and shut down several malicious, covert campaigns allegedly linked to China and aimed at influencing public opinion. As AI becomes more influential and widely adopted, concerns about the responsible use of AI tools are growing. This places an additional responsibility on OpenAI to support ethical AI development.

Despite strong efforts to prevent it, the technology is often misused for inappropriate purposes. OpenAI recently announced that it had detected and shut down several social media campaigns that misused ChatGPT and were linked to propaganda allegedly originating from China. Ten operations were shut down, four of which were linked to China. They consisted of using ChatGPT to create politically charged posts and engaging on several online platforms with fake identities to influence public opinion. One campaign, called Uncle Spam, was used to write controversial posts about sensitive issues in the U.S. According to OpenAI, this is not the first time its technology has been used illegally; other countries, such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea, have also been involved in such practices.

According to NPR, ChatGPT abuse has taken a step forward. They have not only created propaganda posts but also turbocharged them, making them more credible and widely accessible. This raises concerns about their potential improper influence on the community. The tool was also used to produce benchmarks on how the chatbot was used for various activities. Chinese propagandists use ChatGPT to write social media posts and comments — as well as performance reviews detailing their work — for their bosses.

Ben Nimmo, a principal investigator in OpenAI’s Intelligence and Investigations Group, said we are seeing more covert operations from China using various tactics. One such operation involved using ChatGPT to create emails addressed to analysts, journalists, and politicians to build relationships through pretenses and gather information.

The strategic manipulation and violation of ethical boundaries through the use of AI tools is concerning, and companies must be more vigilant and take immediate action against it.

Source: WCCFTech, NPR