On February 21, OpenAI announced the removal of accounts from China and North Korea which were believed to be utilizing its technology for surveillance and opinion-influence operations. According to the ChatGPT maker, these activities represent potential ways authoritarian regimes may exploit AI against both the U.S. and their own citizens. OpenAI employed AI tools to detect such operations but did not disclose the number of banned accounts or the timeframe in which the action took place.
Among the reported incidents, users in one case used ChatGPT to create Spanish news articles disparaging the United States, which were subsequently published by Latin American news outlets under a Chinese company’s name. In another case, actors potentially linked to North Korea utilized AI to fabricate resumes and online profiles for fictitious job seekers aiming to deceitfully secure positions at Western firms. Additionally, a group of ChatGPT accounts related to a financial fraud scheme based in Cambodia utilized OpenAI’s technology to translate and generate comments on various social media platforms, including X and Facebook.
Concerns have been raised by the U.S. government regarding China's alleged exploitation of artificial intelligence to suppress its population, disseminate misinformation, and compromise the security of the United States and its allies.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a widely used AI chatbot, with the company reporting a significant number of weekly active users. It is poised to seek funding of up to $40 billion at a $300 billion valuation, potentially marking a record-setting funding round for a private entity.