AI Detective Series

Jack Stubbs, from the Intelligence and Investigations team, described how his group disrupts organized scam networks while also empowering the public to use ChatGPT as a personal safety tool. He emphasized that most scammers are not inventing new methods but using AI to scale old tricks more efficiently, and that OpenAI has disrupted operations in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Nigeria. Stubbs underscored both the human and financial toll of scams, citing $12 billion in reported U.S. losses last year and even teen suicides linked to sextortion. His team uses a “ping–zing–sting” framework to map scam patterns and has found AI involved at every stage. Importantly, he highlighted that millions of people already use ChatGPT to identify scams, with three times more scam-detection interactions than scammer interactions, and noted growing demand for free, accessible AI safety tools. Stubbs closed by stressing transparency through public reports, partnerships with groups like AARP, and collaboration across tech and civil society to ensure AI strengthens safety, security, and shared benefits for all.