New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) AI company OpenAI has revealed two clusters of ChatGPT accounts, likely originating from China, that used its models in support of apparent covert influence operations that promoted narratives in an attempt to manipulate a legitimate debate about American AI and wider tech policies.
The first cluster generated social media comments and images claiming that data center buildouts for AI were increasing electricity prices for average families. OpenAI named this cluster the “Data Center Bandwagon” campaign.
The second cluster generated comments and images criticizing US tariffs as attempts to dominate technological competition and specified in their prompts that the content should not include China’s leader Xi Jinping in the output and instead include only President Donald Trump.
“This cluster was connected to a network of likely inauthentic social media accounts that were also likely targeting OpenAI by claiming ChatGPT user data had been compromised. These allegations were entirely false. We named this second cluster the ‘Tech and Tariffs’ campaign,” said the company.
OpenAI further said that the targeting of OpenAI and US data centre buildouts is significant not because the operation appears to have shifted public opinion, but because “it shows PRC-origin influence operators testing narratives against AI infrastructure — a foundation of US technological leadership, economic growth and the broader democratic AI ecosystem”.
The operation sought to exploit and amplify existing public concerns about energy prices and local impacts of data centre development, “but we found no evidence of meaningful breakout beyond its own activity”.
“In this case, the operators attempted to covertly insert themselves into an ongoing American debate about the future of the country’s AI capabilities while hiding who they were and what motivated them,” said OpenAI.
The company further stated that it aims to help industry, governments, civil society and the public better identify and disrupt attempts by foreign threat actors to manipulate legitimate public debates, weaken democratic institutions and advance totalitarianism with AI characteristics — the use of AI for surveillance, censorship and control over political, social and private life.
–IANS
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