As Sam Altman’s OpenAI bans hundreds of ChatGPT accounts, it warns Americans: China is trying to influence ‘data center debate’ by lying about …
Sam Altman’s OpenAI has banned two clusters of ChatGPT accounts that it says are operating from China. In a blog post, the company said that these ChatGPT accounts used its models for covert influence campaigns targeting US tech and policy debates, including one called “Data Center Bandwagon,” that produced social media comments and comic strips blaming AI data centers for rising household electricity bills. Whoever was operating the accounts prompted ChatGPT in Simplified Chinese via VPNs, and posed on Twitter as Americans from a range of backgrounds. Yet OpenAI’s full threat report found that the activity generated virtually no authentic engagement.
