May 8, 2023
By Anjali Kochhar
Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, recently made a claim that someone utilized ChatGPT to portray Changpeng Zhao, the company’s CEO, as an official in the Chinese Communist Party.
This claim has raised concerns among experts who believe that recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) could have a disruptive impact on journalism. They warned that ChatGPT could be used to produce fake news and fabricated content, which could be utilized to manipulate public opinion.
As per the latest reports, it is believed that an unidentified individual or entity used ChatGPT, a popular AI program, to falsely portray CZ as a member of China’s Communist Party.
The rumour further stated that he had created a social media platform for the China National Petroleum Corporation, one of the largest energy groups globally and a state-owned oil and gas organization.
According to Patrick Hillmann, who is Binance’s CSO, he attempted to recreate the ChatGPT query, but he was unsuccessful. He used various questions such as “Is Changpeng Zhao a Communist?” and other phrases that were related to the petroleum corporation.
The program led him to a fake LinkedIn page for Zhao and a Forbes article from 2018 that claimed he had connections to China’s ruling party.
However, when he tried to access the article, he received a “not found” error message, and it is unclear whether the article ever existed or when it was published.
Binance has denied any connection between the CEO and the Chinese government and has dismissed the notion of Zhao’s involvement with the state-owned energy giant as absurd. The company stated that Zhao was associated with the China National Petroleum Corporation during his high school days, according to the language model.
As AI and ChatGPT continue to proliferate across various industries, there have been warnings from several experts about the potential hazards that such technology may pose.
Professor Charlie Beckett, who directs an AI program at the London School of Economics and was previously a journalist at BBC, believes that despite the benefits AI may provide, it is challenging to implement it in the journalism field. He advocates that human editing and fact-checking should remain fundamental components of the profession.
In addition to being accused of being a member of the Chinese Communist Party, a recent article by Bloomberg portrayed Binance’s CEO as a multi-billionaire with a net worth of over $28 billion. However, CZ has refuted the report and stated that his actual net worth is nowhere near the amount described in the article.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
