OpenAI Accuses China of Interference via ChatGPT

OpenAI Denounces Chinese Interference via ChatGPT

In a context where the United States dominates the artificial intelligence sector, China is seeking to close the gap by developing its own technologies. However, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has recently highlighted an influence operation attributed to China, aimed at manipulating American public opinion on AI. In a post published this week, OpenAI revealed that it had discovered and banned ChatGPT accounts, likely originating from China, involved in these activities.

These accounts used ChatGPT to generate comments on social media and create images supporting the idea that building new data centers in the United States would increase electricity prices for American households. Another group focused on criticizing U.S. tariffs, explicitly mentioning Donald Trump while avoiding any mention of Chinese President Xi Jinping. OpenAI specified that these accounts were part of a network of fake social media accounts, which also targeted OpenAI by falsely claiming that ChatGPT user data had been compromised.

China's Technological Lag and Its Implications

OpenAI emphasized that the targeting of its projects and the construction of data centers in the United States is significant. It shows that influence actors from the People's Republic of China are testing narratives aimed at AI infrastructure, a cornerstone of American technological leadership, economic growth, and, more broadly, the democratic ecosystem of AI. While China appears to be closing in on its goal of catching up technologically, these revelations highlight the ongoing tensions between the two powers.

In January, Demis Hassabis, the head of DeepMind, told CNBC that China's technological lag would soon be reduced to just a few months. Furthermore, Bloomberg reported that China is preparing a five-year plan to invest the equivalent of $295 billion in building data centers. These initiatives demonstrate China's ambition to enhance its technological capabilities and establish itself as a global leader in the field of AI.

OpenAI acknowledges that the concerns amplified by these influence operations are real, but their exploitation by foreign actors poses a threat to the democratic ecosystem of artificial intelligence.