Israel Firm Tried to Disrupt India Polls, Peddled Anti-BJP Agenda: OpenAI
OpenAI’s Quick Action Against Election Interference
01.06.2024: OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, recently revealed their swift action to disrupt a covert operation using artificial intelligence (AI) to influence the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Within 24 hours, OpenAI responded to “deceptive” uses of its AI technology aimed at swaying public opinion in India.
The “Zero Zeno” Influence Campaign
The influence campaign, dubbed “Zero Zeno,” was orchestrated by STOIC, a political campaign management firm based in Israel. The threat actors attempted to leverage OpenAI’s powerful language models to generate comments, articles, and social media profiles critical of the ruling BJP and favorable to the opposition Congress party.
Targeting the Indian Elections
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated, “In May, the network began generating comments that focused on India, criticized the ruling BJP party, and praised the opposition Congress party. We disrupted some activity focused on the Indian elections less than 24 hours after it began.” This swift action led to the banning of multiple accounts operated from Israel that were involved in this influence operation.
Global and Indian Impact
The operation initially targeted audiences in Canada, the United States, and Israel with content in English and Hebrew. In early May, the focus shifted to Indian audiences with English-language content. OpenAI’s measures included banning accounts across platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, websites, and YouTube.
BJP’s Response to the Threat
Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, labeled the operation a “dangerous threat” to democracy. He stated, “It is absolutely clear and obvious that @BJP4India was and is the target of influence operations, misinformation, and foreign interference, being done by and/or on behalf of some Indian political parties.” Chandrasekhar called for a thorough investigation and scrutiny of such activities, emphasizing the need for timely disclosure from platforms like OpenAI.
Ongoing Efforts by OpenAI
In the past three months, OpenAI has disrupted five covert operations that sought to misuse their models for deceptive activities online. “Our investigations into suspected covert influence operations (IO) are part of a broader strategy to meet our goal of safe AI deployment,” the company stated.
The revelation of this influence campaign underscores the growing challenges of ensuring fair and unbiased elections in the age of AI. OpenAI’s quick action highlights the importance of vigilance and transparency in maintaining the integrity of democratic processes worldwide.