OpenAI has discovered proof that suggests China is secretly employing ChatGPT to craft propaganda posts on social media and to carry out digital monitoring. Sites like Reddit, TikTok, Facebook, and X have been pinpointed as targets of these efforts.
The AI organization announced that it has shut down ten operations, with four likely tracing back to China. Other countries suspected of engaging in similar misconduct include Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
As reported by NPR, the chatbot has been utilized to generate original content and interact with it. In a surprising development, the attackers allegedly employed ChatGPT to create their own performance evaluations related to the exploitation of the tool.
Ben Nimmo, a leading investigator on OpenAI’s intelligence and investigations team, emphasized the growing sophistication of covert maneuvers from China, asserting, “What we’re observing from China is an expanding array of covert activities using an increasing variety of techniques.”
One particular Chinese initiative, referred to as “Sneer Review,” used ChatGPT to generate brief comments that were spread across various social media channels in different languages, including English, Chinese, and Urdu. The subjects of these posts varied from praising to condemning the actions of the Trump administration concerning the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as displaying dissatisfaction with a Taiwanese game centered on defeating the Chinese Communist Party. This operation typically produced both a main post and follow-up comments.
Notably, the AI-generated performance evaluations revealed details about these operations. OpenAI observed that the individuals behind Sneer Review also utilized its tools for internal records, such as compiling a thorough performance assessment of the actions taken to create and manage the operation. The social media activities recorded were found to closely mirror the procedures detailed in this assessment.
Moreover, ChatGPT was said to have been used to draft emails aimed at journalists, analysts, and politicians, indicating an intelligence-collecting aspect of these operations.
