OpenAI's ChatGPT Under Fire As Chinese Police Make First Arrest For AI-Assisted Fake News
Chinese police have arrested a man for allegedly using OpenAI’s chatGPT to spread fake news about a train collision.
What Happened: In what appears to be the first enforcement action under China’s unprecedented law concerning artificial intelligence, police in Gansu province have arrested a man for allegedly creating a fake news article about a train crash using chatGPT, reported CNBC.
According to the authorities, more than 20 accounts had posted the fabricated news story on a blogging platform owned by Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU), which had amassed over 15,000 views. The accused reportedly used chatGPT to circumvent duplication checks and created versions of the article.
See Also: Say Hi To ChatGPT’ Incognito Mode:’ Open AI Strives To Give Users More Data Control
It is pertinent to note that despite OpenAI’s AI language model being blocked by the country’s internet restrictions, a virtual private network or VPN can access chatGPT in China.
The accused, whose surname is Hong, was arrested by the authorities under a newly implemented law regulating “deep synthesis technologies” introduced by China this year. The law explicitly prohibits the use of deep synthesis services, including AI-produced texts, images, videos or other media, to propagate fake news, the report noted.
Why It’s Important: Earlier this year, 49 AI chatbot-generated news websites were uncovered by the news-rating group NewsGuard, raising concerns about the technology’s potential to facilitate fraudulent practices.
Alex Keber’s investigation also uncovered a cluster of applications on the Mac App Store claiming to offer OpenAI’s chatGPT-like services. These apps are reportedly deceiving users into subscribing to costly services.
Previously, cybersecurity experts warned that the latest version of OpenAI’s AI-powered model, GPT-4, may make it easier for bad actors to create new threats and build malware programs.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Posted-In: Artificial Inteliigence Consumer Tech Fake News OpenAiNews Tech Media
