ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is suing a former intern for $1.1 million in damages in an alleged AI breach. The former intern, Tian Keyu, allegedly sabotaged the company’s artificial intelligence large language model training infrastructure by intentionally manipulating its code and performing unauthorized modifications.
ByteDance uses many different artificial intelligence technologies across its various apps and platforms. For example, its generative AI model Doubao, which is similar to ChatGPT, became the most popular chatbot in China earlier this year. Generative AI uses huge sets of data to create text, images, and other new media content.
Initial AI Breach Reports
Reports of the AI breach incident began spreading on social media in late October as the public wondered if the intern had managed to damage Doubao or another highly popular AI model. Some people claimed that the intern had tampered with thousands of powerful graphics processing units (GPU) and caused more than $10 million in damages.
These AI breach rumors prompted ByteDance to release a statement to the BBC, denying reports of the extent of the damages. However, ByteDance did confirm that the intern had been let go in August. ByteDance also said that “the individual was an intern with the [advertising] technology team and has no experience with the AI Lab.” Chinese media outlets identified Tian as a postgraduate student at Peking University.
ByteDance Files a Lawsuit
Now there have been new developments in the case that suggest that the intern may have caused more damage than initially indicated by ByteDance. At the end of November, the Chinese state-owned Legal Weekly reported that ByteDance filed a lawsuit with the Haidian District People’s Court in Beijing. Through the lawsuit, ByteDance is seeking $1.1 million in damages from Tian.
While it’s common for Chinese employers to sue employees, it’s unusual for them to sue a former intern or to ask for such a large amount of money. This case is attracting widespread attention throughout China and the world as people speculate about how much the intern was able to damage the AI model and which model may have been involved.
ByteDance declined to comment on the lawsuit. Tian also did not immediately respond for comment when media outlets reached out via email.