• OpenAI bans accounts linked to Chinese actors manipulating discourse on US data centers.
• Campaigns aimed at stoking opposition to AI data centers over rising electricity costs.
• Chinese embassy denies any connection to OpenAI's report, calling it groundless.

OpenAI has recently reported that Chinese propagandists are using its AI technology to influence American discussions about data centers and tariffs. Specifically, the company banned two clusters of ChatGPT accounts believed to be linked to these influence operations. One campaign, called "Data Center Bandwagon," was focused on spreading the narrative that data centers are increasing household electricity bills, seeking to exploit existing public concerns about energy prices, according to SCMP and Al Jazeera.

The influence efforts featured the generation of social media comments and images that criticized AI-related policies and tariffs. OpenAI's report indicated that a separate group of accounts was intent on framing US tariffs as a means for competition against China, explicitly instructing that Chinese leader Xi Jinping should not be mentioned. Despite these activities, OpenAI concluded that the operations resulted in virtually no authentic engagement, underscoring the ineffectiveness of the efforts, as noted by India Times and Al Jazeera.

OpenAI described the content produced by these accounts, such as comic strips depicting a greedy businessman to illustrate the alleged financial burdens shouldered by families due to rising electricity prices connected to data centers. The company revealed that this second cluster of accounts, dubbed the "Tech and Tariffs" campaign, also navigated around content involving Xi Jinping, potentially to avoid backlash, according to OpenAI's report shared with both SCMP and India Times.

China's embassy in Washington expressed its unfamiliarity with OpenAI's report and reiterated its commitment to using AI for good. The embassy condemned any allegations of manipulation as "groundless" and affirmed that China believes in a people-centered approach to technology. The spokesperson emphasized that AI should serve as a force for good and inclusiveness, as mentioned by Al Jazeera and SCMP.