A man known only as “Hong” has been arrested in China’s Gansu province on suspicion of using the ChatGPT service to create fake news stories.Hong’s arrest was hosted by Chinese tech conglomerate Baidu. It came after an investigation into an unsubstantiated article about a train accident was discovered on a popular blog site. Cybersecurity experts found at least 20 accounts simultaneously posting fake news stories, leading to Hong’s arrest.
China has some of the strictest laws on social media use in the world. Hong was arrested for “using artificial intelligence technology to create false and inaccurate information.” Specifically, it covers spreading fake news and rumors on the Internet. If charged, Hong faces up to five years in prison under normal law, but he could be sentenced to up to 10 years if the court deemed the crime particularly egregious.
The ChatGPT service is currently banned in China, but its use can be obfuscated by a virtual private network (VPN). But homegrown AI services, such as Alibaba’s “Tongyi Qianwen,” recently unveiled as a generative AI model trained to answer questions in both English and Mandarin, have received Chinese government approval. It is unknown if Tongyi Qianwen has the same creative abilities as ChatGPT.
Growing concerns about misuse of AI technology
The lack of a robust generative artificial intelligence model in China has led to the country’s growing popularity in areas such as fintech and cryptocurrency trading, where the use of ChatGPT and products built on OpenAI’s GPT API has exploded in popularity. It can have a negative impact on the tech scene. The Chinese government will likely continue to monitor the use of artificial intelligence technologies and crack down on those who use them to spread false information.
The incident also highlights growing concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence technology. Artificial intelligence has great potential to transform various industries, but it also poses significant risks. The ability to quickly and easily create compelling fake news stories can have a serious impact on public trust in media and governments. As artificial intelligence continues to advance, it is important to develop effective strategies to prevent its misuse and ensure that it is used for the public good.
