OpenAI Photo: VCG

OpenAI said it has banned two clusters of ChatGPT accounts likely originating from China after they allegedly used ChatGPT to try to fuel a suspected influence operation aimed at undermining support for US data centers, the Business insider reported on Thursday.

OpenAI claimed that a group of ChatGPT accounts with ties to China have sought to stir up local opposition to data centers in the US in a potential bid to hinder the country's competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI), according to another report by Bloomberg on Thursday.

Chinese experts rejected this claim as "baseless," arguing that OpenAI's move was more like an attempt to find an "external scapegoat" for the US' own infrastructure woes. They pointed out that the real problems facing the US today are not alleged foreign influence, but rather strained power supplies, aging transmission networks, and the energy pressure caused by the rapid expansion of data centers.

According to a report released by OpenAI on Wednesday, the company found a cluster of accounts originating from China that used AI to create English-language social media posts about data centers raising the cost of electricity for Americans. The users behind the campaign, OpenAI claimed, were likely linked to a private, unnamed Chinese technology company doing work for Chinese provincial-level government clients, the Bloomberg reported.

In its report headlined "China-linked influence operations are targeting AI debates in the US," OpenAI said one cluster of ChatGPT accounts likely originating from China that it banned generated social media comments and images claiming that data center buildouts for AI were increasing electricity prices for average families. 

It claimed in the report that the targeting of OpenAI and US data center buildouts is significant not because the operation appears to have shifted public opinion, but because it shows China-origin influence operators testing narratives against AI infrastructure - a foundation of US technological leadership, economic growth and the broader democratic AI ecosystem. 

"The operation sought to exploit and amplify existing public concerns about energy prices and local impacts of data center development, but we found no evidence of meaningful breakout beyond its own activity," the company also said in the report.

The theory that China is paying local activists in America to oppose data centers is catching on like wildfire among the Silicon Valley elite, despite a lack of evidence, according to an NPR report. 

Independent researchers said they have so far turned up little evidence of a coordinated Chinese effort, according to the NPR report. "We haven't found much," said Darren Linvill, the co-lead of the Media Forensics Hub at Clemson University, which tracks foreign influence campaigns online, according to the report. 

OpenAI itself admitted in its report that it found "no evidence of meaningful breakout beyond its own activity." It showed that this accusation is baseless and a politically motivated smear based on speculation, because Chinese AI companies have no incentive or need to engage in such activities, Ma Jihua, a veteran industry analyst, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

According to a Politico report on Wednesday, OpenAI's report comes a week after House Republicans urged the US government to probe China's role in allegedly stoking public opposition to AI data centers. They cited two separate recent reports from think tank Bitcoin Policy Institute and the right-leaning group Power the Future alleging that groups with foreign ties have played a role in driving anti-data center sentiments. 

OpenAI's findings are likely to bolster claims from some industry executives that foreign actors are working to stoke opposition to the energy and computing infrastructure underpinning America's AI ambitions.

"The reported American public's opposition to data centers has nothing to do with China. There is no evidence to suggest that China is paying influencers or anyone else to oppose them," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Zhongguancun Modern Information Consumer Application Industry Technology Alliance, told the Global Times on Thursday. According to the expert, the core challenge for the US AI sector is slowing technical progress, an unclear path to profitability, and weak infrastructure capacity.

Public dissatisfaction with data centers in the US has long existed, according to NPR report, which cited a recent Gallup poll findings that 71 percent of Americans somewhat or strongly opposed construction of data centers in their communities.

"As AI computing demand has surged, data centers have sparked controversy in many regions over rising electricity prices, land use, and the environmental impact on local communities. In other words, the relevant public sentiment did not emerge out of thin air, nor does it need to be 'manufactured' by external forces," Ma said. 

The OpenAI's report is trying to preserve inflated valuations and seek government intervention against foreign competitors, Ma said. However, it only indicates a more fundamental problem: America's AI ambitions are colliding with a fragile power system, aging transmission infrastructure, and the rising energy demands of data center.

"OpenAI should stop this blame-shifting performance and face reality," Xiang said. "If it really cares about the future of American AI, it should focus on saving power and building sustainable growth."