Israeli firms among those experimenting with AI-powered social media bots — NYT

Iran, China, and Israeli entities harnessed artificial intelligence to orchestrate extensive social media influence campaigns, according to a recent investigation by The New York Times. These AI-powered initiatives marked a first-of-their-kind scale and intensity surpassing what human users could achieve organically, as US officials disclosed to the NYT.

The involved parties employed Chinese "open-source" AI models, which users could customize for their specific needs. They transformed these open-source models into autonomous agents, bots capable of functioning independently without continuous direction. Once deployed, these AI agents rapidly established networks of fabricated accounts across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, and TikTok.

The AI agents then disseminated false information regarding politics and current events on these platforms. US intelligence agencies, along with cybersecurity experts, investigated the entities behind the AI campaigns, attributing the activities to state-backed Chinese and Iranian groups, as well as to Israeli campaigns originating from two private firms.

Kyle Crichton, a fellow at the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology, predicted that "Agent-led campaigns" would become more commonplace as the technology becomes more prevalent. These agents could be sophisticated, enabling them to infiltrate and mimic genuine user behavior.

The investigation unfolded amidst heightened discourse about AI's risks, following warnings from AI leaders about the dangers of rapid development without adequate safety measures. Recently, Meta disclosed a "technically significant development" involving malicious actors utilizing AI for nefarious purposes, emphasizing the need for responsible AI development.

The report also traced AI-agent campaigns to Israel, noting that IntelEye, a Tel Aviv-based company founded by former NSO Group employees, utilized approximately 1,000 AI-powered fake accounts on social media to influence political discourse surrounding the Israeli elections. IntelEye utilized DeepSeek, a Chinese open-source AI model, to generate its agents, which disseminated content supporting and opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

IntelEye dismissed accusations of orchestrating influence campaigns, stating that the work was conducted for defensive research purposes. Co-founder Maor Sellek explained that the company procured 10,000 social media accounts, which were then controlled by autonomous AI agents. However, Sellek acknowledged that only around 1,000 of these accounts were operational, and the agents' attempts to engage with posts were unsuccessful.

Meta announced that most of the AI-powered agents set up by IntelEye and other entities on Facebook and Instagram had been eradicated through automated detection and verification systems.