REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA—A man in China has been arrested for fabricating information about a train crash. It broadcasts the news online using the latest AI technology, ChatGPT.

This is the first arrest in China for abusing ChatGPT. Police in Gansu province said the suspect, surnamed Hong, was arrested for creating false information using AI technology.

reported from India today, On Wednesday (5/10/2023), this story was first noticed by cybersecurity officers in the Kongtong area, when they saw a fake news article claiming that nine people had died in an accident. of trains.

The story was uploaded by more than 20 accounts on a Chinese platform called Baijiahao. The story was clicked more than 15,000 times by the time authorities discovered it.

Police traced the origin of the article to a company owned by Hong, who has now been arrested after searching Hong’s home and computer. He admitted to bypassing Baijiahao’s duplicate check feature and uploading fake stories to multiple accounts.

he uses ChatGPT to quickly create different versions of the same fake story, incorporating trending social story elements from previous years.

ChatGPT is not immediately available for Chinese IP addresses, but Chinese users can still access its service with a VPN connection. Chinese IT outlets are experimenting with their version of ChatGPT, after Microsoft and Google announced their innovations.

China closely monitors social media through its firewall, to ensure there is no content critical of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

China’s top internet regulator fears that the uncontrolled use of synthetic technology could lead to its use in criminal activities such as online fraud or defamation.

As ChatGPT grows in popularity, Chinese law enforcement agencies have issued suspicions and warnings about the technology. In February 2023, Beijing police warned the public to be aware of rumors created by ChatGPT.

Note that the suspect Hong is charged with inciting a fight and causing trouble, and is liable to a maximum sentence of five years in prison. However, offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years and face an additional sentence if the offense is deemed particularly serious.

It is the first time the public has witnessed an arrest by Chinese authorities, after Beijing’s first provision to regulate the use of “deepfake” technology officially came into effect in January 2023.