TL;DROpenAI found China-linked ChatGPT accounts generating anti-data centre content. The campaign flopped. But the legitimate debate over power costs is real.
OpenAI said a cluster of ChatGPT accounts linked to China attempted to stir up local opposition to US data centres by posing as Americans and posting AI-generated content about rising electricity costs. The company nicknamed the campaign “Data Center Bandwagon” and said the accounts were likely tied to a private Chinese technology firm working for provincial-level government clients. The posts had limited reach.
The accounts used ChatGPT to create English-language social media posts and cartoon images depicting executives and robots carrying bags of money while “ordinary people” bear the costs of the AI industry. OpenAI also identified a second campaign, “Tech and Tariffs,” creating content criticising Trump’s tariffs and the US push for global tech dominance.
“I want to be really clear here: This was not a case of an influence operation creating a debate,” said Ben Nimmo, OpenAI’s principal investigator on intelligence and investigations. “The debate existed already. This was an influence operation from China trying to interfere in it.”
