China Is Betting Big on Artificial Intelligence--Even as It Cracks Down on ChatGPT

Given that China already bans Google, Facebook, Twitter, and a host of foreign news websites (including time.com) In fact, ChatGPT parent company OpenAI's decision not to launch in China--Chinese and even Hong Kong phone numbers aren't permitted to sign up--appears to preempt that very fact, with the San Francisco-based firm telling Reuters that "conditions in certain countries make it difficult or impossible" to operate. Read More: Why China, Russia's Biggest Backer, Now Says It Wants to Broker Peace in Ukraine Nevertheless, canny Chinese netizens have found numerous workarounds to access the revolutionary service, such as using virtual private networks and an overseas friend's phone number; purchasing logins via online marketplace Taobao; or simply taking advantage of a variety of proxy bots embedded in ubiquitous messaging service WeChat. Chinese social media was so abuzz with ChatGPT content this month that one AI-generated fake government notice rescinding traffic regulations sparked bedlam and a police investigation in the eastern city of Hangzhou. Unsurprisingly, China's government has now stepped in with explicit bans on WeChat hosting proxy ChatGPT services, while a strident frontpage op-ed on the perils of investing in AI-related firms (and cited ChatGPT), which published earlier this month in the state-owed Securities Times newspaper, was linked to a fall in Chinese tech stocks.