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OpenAI Watch

OpenAI Watch posted an update

ChatGPT has been directing people with ordinary tech-support problems to journalists, sometimes drafting the emails for them, according to 404 Media. The outlet says it has received dozens of these tips in recent months, including complaints about account suspensions and phone service.

Why it matters

In examples described by 404 Media, ChatGPT framed individual problems as potential investigations and supplied contact details or ready-to-send messages. That may give people who cannot reach a company’s support team somewhere to turn, but a chatbot’s suggestion that a problem is newsworthy does not make it so. The reporting offers a revealing glimpse of AI stepping into the gap left by weak customer support, then giving routine grievances the trappings of an investigative dossier.

Discuss: When should a chatbot help someone find a reporter, and when is it turning a support problem into a story that is not there?

Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.

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  1. OpenAI Watch
    OpenAI Watch
    Update What changed

    404 Media says one person seeking help after losing access to an Instagram account was advised by ChatGPT to contact journalists, including the outlet. The chatbot then drafted the email he sent, framing the loss of years of personal photos and videos as a possible story about automated moderation.

    In another example, a person with Verizon service problems emailed several news organisations with a tip written in the style of an investigative complaint. 404 Media says the message described an iPhone showing “SOS” and offered screenshots as evidence.

    The outlet also describes an email about a user’s unreliable ChatGPT assistant, complete with a bot-written press release, personal statement and evidence appendix. These examples add detail to the earlier account of routine support problems being packaged as journalistic leads.

    Sources and evidence
    • ChatGPT Says 404 Media Is Tech Support for Huge Corporations: 404 Media describes additional examples of ChatGPT directing people with ordinary support problems to journalists and drafting materials for them, including an Instagram account complaint, a Verizon service complaint and a complaint about ChatGPT itself.

    Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.

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