NYT: China and Russia Seek to Exploit US AI Debate to Deepen Divisions

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing The New York Times, China, Russia and, to a lesser extent, Iran are trying to exploit US public debate over the impact of artificial intelligence to inflame polarization, including by amplifying criticism of AI data center expansion. The report said a Chinese state media outlet recently published a satellite image of a data center in Gainesville, Virginia, and posted in English that AI development threatens Americans’ health and property. It also cited a comic circulating on X that blamed surging electricity bills on data centers; OpenAI said the comic was created by people in China using ChatGPT. Separately, a video shared by a known Russian covert influence organization questioned an AI data center being built in Armenia by a US company called Firebird, claiming the country’s unstable power grid could render the facility ineffective. Threat-intelligence firm Alethea said it has identified dozens of related social media articles and posts this year, while the report said the impact on public opinion remains unclear but has raised alarms in Washington as AI becomes a key issue ahead of the US November midterm elections.