All tech companies in China have been prohibited by the government from providing ChatGPT or any related services on their platforms. According to state media, the US-based ChatGPT is disseminating misinformation that could harm Chinese sovereignty.
On February 20, China Daily, a state-owned media outlet, stated on Weibo that the chatbot could potentially assist the US government in spreading disinformation and manipulating global narratives to further its own geopolitical agenda
On February 20, China Daily, a state-owned media outlet, stated on Weibo that the chatbot could potentially assist the US government in spreading disinformation and manipulating global narratives to further its own geopolitical agenda
The article reports that Chinese regulators have instructed tech giants Tencent and Ant Group to not offer access to AI chatbot ChatGPT due to concerns that the tool will provide "uncensored replies" to politically sensitive questions. Chinese regulators have also reportedly told these tech firms to not only restrict access to ChatGPT but to also report to officials before launching their own rival chatbots.
This move is in line with China's heavy-handed approach to censorship and quick regulatory responses to new technology. The Chinese government has already introduced new rules regarding the production of "synthetic content" like deepfakes, and Chinese tech giants have had to censor other AI applications like image generators.
The article notes that although ChatGPT is not officially available in China, it has caused a stir among the country's web users and AI community. Some members of the AI community have expressed dismay that such technology was not developed first in China, citing the country's strict tech regulation and zealous censorship as barriers to the creation of these systems. However, the United States has been successful in creating new chatbots in part due to an abundance of training data scraped from the web and the rapid launch and iteration of new models.
This move is in line with China's heavy-handed approach to censorship and quick regulatory responses to new technology. The Chinese government has already introduced new rules regarding the production of "synthetic content" like deepfakes, and Chinese tech giants have had to censor other AI applications like image generators.
The article notes that although ChatGPT is not officially available in China, it has caused a stir among the country's web users and AI community. Some members of the AI community have expressed dismay that such technology was not developed first in China, citing the country's strict tech regulation and zealous censorship as barriers to the creation of these systems. However, the United States has been successful in creating new chatbots in part due to an abundance of training data scraped from the web and the rapid launch and iteration of new models.
Chinese users have been able to access ChatGPT via VPN services or third-party integrations into messaging apps like WeChat, although Tencent has reportedly already banned several of these services. China Daily, the country's largest English-language newspaper, has warned that ChatGPT could be used to spread Western propaganda.
The article also notes that since ChatGPT was launched on the web in November last year, Chinese tech giants including Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba have announced that they are working on their own rival services. However, these companies will find it challenging to navigate the limitations imposed by regulators. Restricting the training data for chatbots will hobble their abilities in comparison to Western rivals, and even if their input is tightly controlled, users may still be able to solicit unwanted responses for which the companies will likely be held accountable.
The article also notes that since ChatGPT was launched on the web in November last year, Chinese tech giants including Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba have announced that they are working on their own rival services. However, these companies will find it challenging to navigate the limitations imposed by regulators. Restricting the training data for chatbots will hobble their abilities in comparison to Western rivals, and even if their input is tightly controlled, users may still be able to solicit unwanted responses for which the companies will likely be held accountable.
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-Anurag
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