AI poisoning: fake fitness tracker fools chatbots in China, sparking outcry

2026-03-16 - 12:07

An undercover investigation by state-run China Central Television (CCTV) has cast a harsh light on a controversial practice in a nascent industry: the “poisoning” of artificial intelligence models with fabricated information. The report showed how techniques of generative engine optimisation (GEO) – the AI version of search engine optimisation (SEO) – could be used to manipulate AI chatbots, provoking widespread public concern and debate as both industry insiders and observers anticipated...