Artificial intelligence firm OpenAI has taken decisive action against several covert online influence operations that exploited its technology to manipulate public opinion globally. The company, founded by Sam Altman, announced on May 30 that it had terminated accounts linked to these deceptive activities.

In the past three months, OpenAI identified and disrupted five covert influence operations (IOs) that sought to misuse its AI models to conduct deceptive activities across the internet. These malicious actors utilized AI to generate comments for articles, create names and bios for social media accounts, and translate and proofread texts, among other activities.

One of the disrupted operations, known as “Spamouflage,” employed OpenAI's technology to research social media trends and generate multilingual content for platforms such as X, Medium, and Blogspot. The aim was to manipulate public opinion and influence political outcomes. This operation also used AI to debug code and manage databases and websites.

Another operation, dubbed “Bad Grammar,” targeted Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltic States, and the United States. It utilized OpenAI models to run Telegram bots and generate political comments, furthering its agenda through digital means.

A group called “Doppelganger” leveraged AI models to produce comments in multiple languages, including English, French, German, Italian, and Polish. These comments were disseminated on platforms like X and 9GAG with the intent of manipulating public opinion.

Additionally, the “International Union of Virtual Media” used OpenAI's technology to generate long-form articles, headlines, and website content, which were then published on their linked website.

OpenAI also disrupted a commercial entity named STOIC, which utilized AI to generate articles and comments on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, X, and other websites associated with the operation.

The content produced by these operations covered a wide range of issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza, Indian elections, European and American politics, and criticisms of the Chinese government by Chinese dissidents and foreign governments.

“Our case studies provide examples from some of the most widely reported and longest-running influence campaigns that are currently active,” said Ben Nimmo, a principal investigator for OpenAI, in an interview with The New York Times. Nimmo's report marks the first instance of a major AI firm revealing how its specific tools were used for online deception.

Despite these efforts, OpenAI concluded that these operations have not significantly benefited from increased audience engagement or reach due to their services. The firm remains committed to monitoring and preventing the misuse of its technology to ensure ethical and responsible AI deployment.