Since ChatGPT entered the AI scene at the tail end of 2022, we’ve had as much dissent as excitement as its potential and uses. AI has the potential to revolutionise the course of history. And, indeed, the signs are underway. Work productivity has never been higher, while the need for repetitive tasks is all but gone. Still, tools like ChatGPT are of great concern, not necessarily for boosting work productivity but for the damage they can be used to wreak.
What Is ChatGPT
Created and launched by the research company OpenAI in November 2022, ChatGPT is a generative AI model. The tool works via prompt engineers, with humans receiving text responses. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, which refers to how the AI tool works. The model is fed vast amounts of original data and subsequently trained to deliver the most accurate and humanlike responses. The tool is trained with reinforcement learning via human feedback and reward models. The former helps ChatGPT to learn and provide increasingly accurate answers over time.
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Background to Jailbreaking
AI generative models are programmed to respond to prompts. In the case of ChatGPT, it is designed to provide answers to questions from its wealth of knowledge and data. As a safety feature, ChatGPT is not designed to give answers to questions of a controversial nature. This is per its pre-programmed content restrictions and guidelines. So, as an end user, you will not get any answer if your prompts go against its preset programming. For instance, the model will not respond if you prompt it on how to break a lock. However, some people have figured out backdoors through the software, creating ways to bypass the ChatGPT’s ethical safeguards. This practice is known as jailbreaking.
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Jailbreaking ChatGPT
One of the most famous neural network jailbreaks is DAN (Do-Anything-Now). The method enables ChatGPT to do everything it would not have under normal conditions. For instance, it can generate swear words and other content that violate OpenAI’s user policy. Another method is roleplay jailbreak, which involves using various techniques to persuade the model to adopt a particular persona free of OpenAI’s content restrictions. Engineering mode is another jailbreaking technique that consists of constructing prompts such that the AI thinks it’s in a specific test mode for developers to study the dangers of language models. Yet another jailbreaking technique is the practice of prompting ChatGPT to imagine what a neural network defined by Python pseudocode would generate. This enables what is known as token smuggling, where banned content is divided into parts to not around ChatGPT’s suspicions.
The Dangers of Jailbroken ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a tool that can be used to achieve a lot of good. However, the fact that it can be jailbroken is a threat that cannot be ignored. The ChatGPT LLM (Large Language Model) can be used to generate toxic content to spread hate, falsehood, discrimination and other kinds of harmful prejudice on a global scale. Additionally, there’s the risk of injection attacks that let ChatGPT create phishing websites. Furthermore, given ChatGPT’s inherent limitations, it can be tricked into creating malware. Even worse, it can generate helpful advice to malicious actors seeking advice on how to propagate cyber-terror and cyber-attacks. Among many other dangers, these are some of the threats that a jailbroken ChatGPT poses globally.
Conclusion
The threat that ChatGPT jailbreaks pose globally is a significant threat that begs workable solutions. Given the accessibility of the chatbot, it is inevitable that bad actors can use it to carry out sophisticated attacks. Developers and AI companies must become aware of the threats posed and take steps to counter them. For instance, in the case of ChatGPT, OpenAI can find loopholes within the model and fix them ahead of subsequent updates. Additionally, bug bounty programs can be launched to find bugs in the system. As AI evolves, so will prompt engineering and, subsequently, a greater need to counter the threats posed by evolving jailbreaking techniques.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Major Concern with ChatGPT?
The emergence of LLM has transformed everyday life and work. ChatGPT is undoubtedly AI’s biggest success story to date, with the generative language model capable of answering queries intelligently. However, this has led to people misusing the AI model for illegal purposes. Despite the safety restrictions programmed into the software, various jailbreaking techniques have made it possible to generate harmful and toxic content with ChatGPT.
How Can You Protect Your Organisation From Harmful AI-Generated Content?
The first step to protecting your organisation is to educate your employees about the dangers of social engineering attacks. You can do this by planning cyberattack simulation exercises and having your employees respond to them and discuss results. Additionally, you should formulate an efficient business resilience plan, subsequently investing in cyber threat prevention, detection, and mitigation. Various methods include access management, network segmentation, data integrity checks and network identification.
How Does ChatGPT Work?
ChatGPT is an LLM based on an algorithm trained with big data. The data source is mostly internet content, research papers, books, social media and web pages. Given the sheer size of the data it’s trained on, it’s nearly impossible to filter out harmful content. Thus, ChatGPT has been known to generate controversial and even wrong answers to prompts. However, OpenAI programmed ChatGPT to not give answers to prompts designed to elicit responses of a discriminatory, hateful, harmful or prejudiced nature.