Generative AI is enabling development and delivery of influence operations at unprecedented efficiency, speed, and scale. China-based technology company GoLaxy appears to use generative AI to build influence operations targeting Taiwan and Hong Kong, tapping models to mine social media profiles and create adaptive, authentic-seeming content that avoids detection. GoLaxy reportedly used tools including DeepSeek's open-source reasoning model to create synthetic personas capable of adapting messaging and mimicking real people. Documents indicate creation of profiles for at least 117 members of Congress and over 2,000 American political figures and thought leaders, though the documents have not been publicly released and GoLaxy has denied the claims. Experts warn large language models can amplify malign foreign influence operations and help adversaries overcome language barriers that previously exposed their schemes. These developments coincide with reduced government efforts to debunk and raise awareness about influence campaigns, heightening vulnerability.
"We are seeing now an ability to both develop and deliver at an efficiency, at a speed, at a scale that we've never seen before," Gen. Paul Nakasone, former head of the NSA and now director of the Vanderbilt Institute, told reporters at the DEF CON hacker conference earlier this month. That acceleration comes at a time when the U.S. government is pulling back on efforts to debunk and raise awareness about influence campaigns.
"Driving the news: At least one China-based technology company, GoLaxy, seems to be using generative AI to build influence operations in Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to internal documents leaked to researchers at Vanderbilt University's Institute of National Security. Documents detailed how GoLaxy appears to be tapping generative AI to mine social media profiles and create content that 'feels authentic, adapts in real-time and avoids detection,' the researchers wrote in a New York Times opinion piece."
"The intrigue: Documents also show that GoLaxy has created profiles for at least 117 members of Congress and over 2,000 American political figures and thought leaders. Axios could not independently verify the documents, which haven't been publicly released. GoLaxy has denied the claims. Between the lines: Experts have long warned about the potential for large language models like ChatGPT to amplify and enhance malign foreign influence operations. Generative AI also helps foreign adversaries overcome language barriers that previously would have tipped people off."
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