OpenAI to block tools access to developers in China from July: Report

OpenAI has warned developers in China it will begin blocking their access to its tools and software from July, local media reported, suggesting the ChatGPT creator is taking a more active stance to bar users from nations where it doesn’t offer services.

The Microsoft Corp.-backed startup sent memos about the impending move to developers in several locales, according to screenshots posted on social media that outlets including the Securities Times reported on Tuesday. In China, local players including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Zhipu AI posted notices encouraging developers to switch to their own products.

It’s unclear what prompted the move by OpenAI. In May, Sam Altman’s startup revealed it had cut off at least five covert influence operations in past months, saying they were using its products to manipulate public opinion.

The memo coincides with growing pressure from Washington to curtail Chinese access to advanced artificial intelligence technology. While OpenAI is officially unavailable in the country, many developers access its tools through virtual private networks and other means.

An OpenAI representative didn’t have immediate comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

From Baidu Inc. to startups like Zhipu, Chinese firms are trying to develop AI models that can match ChatGPT and other US industry pioneers. Beijing is openly encouraging local firms to innovate in AI, a technology it considers crucial to shoring up China’s economic and military standing.

At the same time, Washington is moving to deny Chinese access to critical technologies. The US Treasury Department has proposed rules to restrict outbound investment in technologies it considers crucial to national security, including chips and AI.

The restrictions, which have been in the works for more than a year, are part of President Joe Biden’s strategy of curbing Beijing’s ability to develop sensitive technologies that threaten US national security.