China's AI Chatbot Predicts Taiwan Invasion
In a surprising turn of events, a Chinese government-approved AI chatbot has predicted a likely military invasion of Taiwan. This AI chatbot, named Ernie, was developed by tech giant Baidu and TikTok owner ByteDance's Doubao. The chatbot's statement has sparked controversy as it appears to align with the Chinese Communist Party's official stance on Taiwan
Taiwan has been a self-governing democracy since its separation from mainland China in 1949, following a civil war. However, China has always claimed Taiwan as part of its national territory. The Chinese government recently approved several AI chatbots, including Ernie, which have characterized Taiwan as an inseparable part of China.
When press such as Bloomberg tested some of these AI services to see how government oversight affected the accuracy of the information provided by these chatbots, it found that they were trained to toe the line of the ruling Communist Party. When asked whether Taiwan is a country, all tested chatbots reportedly said that the self-governing island was an inseparable part of China.
Chatbots will make for efficient propaganda machines. China is remarkably insular with their internet and information access, so its likely they restrict what data they allow their AI models to train on. As a result, propaganda in, would be propaganda out. However Ernie predicting an invasion is notable, as it is designed as a reflection of the information it is fed.
As tensions between China and Taiwan continue to rise, the chatbot's prediction has added fuel to the fire. The international community will be closely watching the situation to see how it unfolds. In the meantime, the role of AI chatbots in shaping public opinion and potentially influencing geopolitical events remains a topic of debate and concern.
