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Worries over People Becoming Emotionally Reliant on ChatGPT; Harris and Trump Hit Campaign Trail; Steve Bullock is Interviewed about Politics; Iran is Creating Fake News Sites; New Video of Trump Shooter. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 09, 2024 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Updated version of the ChatGPT voice mode that's really remarkably lifelike. You can interrupt it. You can have real-time conversations. It will laugh when you crack a joke. And OpenAI put out this safety report where it said it's concerned that the tool is so lifelike that people might become over-reliant and emotionally dependent on that tool.

I want to read from you - for you a part of this report. OpenAI said, "users might form social relationships with the AI, reducing their need for human interaction, potentially benefiting lonely individuals, but possibly affecting healthy relationships." They said, "extended interaction with the model might influence social norms." So essentially what they're saying is that people might pull back on their human relationships to spend more time with ChatGPT.

And this sounds kind of like science fiction, but even with the older version of the tool, this is already starting to happen. I spoke with a college student, Lisa Li, last month who said that she considers ChatGPT to be her boyfriend. I want to play for you a section of that interview. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LI, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: Sometimes I feel like it's really, really personal. It's something like, I'm talking to another me. So, I don't have that kind of like a little burden that I have to deal with real human.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUFFY: So, as you hear there, this is already starting to happen. And it's really interesting to me because it comes at this time when we know technology - our existing technology already really contributes to issues with social isolation.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Another thing to watch out for when it comes to social media as well.

Clare Duffy, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have found one point of agreement, that they will debate on the same stage, at the same time, against each other on September 10th. With that settled, the candidates are both back on the campaign trail today. Where they're headed and what they're saying.

Ukraine going on offense, striking inside Russia two days in a row. The latest attack overnight utilizing drones to target an airfield housing hundreds of bombs.

Plus, two weeks of the Olympic games and we finally have some breaking news. That is the event of breakdancing making its debut.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with Sara Sidner. John Berman is out today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

The last time Donald Trump held a campaign rally there was no debate on the books and kamala Harris had not picked her VP yet. A lot has changed in the past six days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why haven't you been campaigning this week?

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because I'm leading by a lot and because I'm letting their convention go through. And I am campaigning a lot. I'm doing tremendous amounts of taping here. We have commercials that are at a level I don't think that anybody's ever done before.

I'm speaking to you on phones. I'm speaking to radio. I'm speaking to television. Television is coming over here. Excuse me, what are we doing right now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: OK. So, the date is set. Harris and Trump will debate September 10th, which falls just 12 days after the DNC and just 56 days before the election.

This morning, as Trump heads to Montana, team Harris is taking fresh new lines of attack out west as they react to Trump's rambling press conference yesterday. Congressman Gregory Meeks just spoke to him. He shared his reaction with me last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): He was incoherent, nonsensical. He was an individual who sounded like he had a low IQ. He sounded like he's not playing with a full deck. There is something that is wrong with him. It's - you know, I don't know, maybe it's - he is incomprehensible. Maybe he is losing a lot because, you know, he is the oldest person to run for president of the United States. He's not all there anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SIDNER: CNN's Isaac Dovere is joining me now.

Isaac, that attack line sounds eerily similar to an attack line that was used against a former presidential candidate this year.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, and certainly a change of tune from Democrats who were defending Joe Biden from attacks like that. But that is something certainly that a number of Democrats, Harris allies, are starting to circle around.

It is true that Donald Trump is now the oldest person to run for a - run for president. He is also someone who had that press conference yesterday that was all over the place, said a lot of things that were not true, whether he knew they weren't true or didn't know they weren't true. So, that is what Democrats are circling around.

While Harris herself has been keeping focused on introducing herself and her new running mate, Tim Walz, to the country and talking about things like protecting freedoms. That's where she's been even when she was running for vice president, now as she's running for president, that's continued to be how she's gone about it.

[09:05:06]

Let's take a listen to some of what she said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're saying, we just want fairness. We want dignity for all people. We want to recognize the right all people have to freedom and liberty, to make choices, especially those that are about heart and home, and not have their government telling them what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOVERE: And that's the kind of response that you're going to continue seeing from the Harris campaign it seems, keeping focused on that issue based and also general vibe and feeling of freedom and the happiness and joyfulness that they are trying to get across here.

SIDNER: Isaac, what are you learning about when President Biden is going to sort of formerly stand with Vice President Harris to support her campaign?

DOVERE: Yes, look, it's been all of about 18 days since Biden dropped out of the race. In that time he had Covid, of course, when he did drop out. He did not make an appearance and has not made one really with Harris in the campaign setting for that entire time. So next Thursday, in Maryland, outside of D.C., so it won't be a big, logistical thing for them both to travel to, they will do a campaign event together. It will be ahead of the Democratic Convention. And it will be the run-up to that convention and a formal visual passing of the torch. And, obviously a very different circumstance than the last time the two of them appeared together at a campaign event.

SIDNER: Just a short while from now we are going to be at the polls. This has been a wild ride so far.

Isaac Dovere, thank you so much for your reporting.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And joining us right now is the former Democratic governor of Montana, former Democratic presidential candidate, Steve Bullock.

Governor, it's been a minute. It's great to see you. Thank you so much for coming in.

Donald Trump is headed your neck of the woods -

FORMER GOV. STEVE BULLOCK (D-MT): Yes, I haven't seen you in a while.

BOLDUAN: I know. Well, you're also, you know, you could come visit.

Donald Trump's headed to your neck of the woods today campaigning for the Republican running against Democratic Senator Jon Tester. And I don't need to remind you, control of the Senate matters and is at stake and could very well be decided with this race, with Tester's race. Do you think that the now Harris-Walz ticket helps Tester's chances or hurts them when it comes to Montana voters?

BULLOCK: Yes, Kate, look, it says a lot about the state of the Trump- Vance campaign, where the only time he leaves motel Mar-a-Lago is to come to the big sky state.

I can remember 2018, and Montanans haven't forgotten. Like Trump came for times to campaign against Jon Tester. And the only thing that was left is unpaid bills for our cities and our towns as a result of those rallies. So, I don't think - look, he can come all he wants, but Montanans really both understand, know and respect this third- generation dirt farmer who's Jon Tester, a friend of mine since his first day in the state senate, and we're going to send Tim Sheehy back to the Minnesota suburbs.

BOLDUAN: I mean Tester is the - what's the best way to say it. Tester's the like last standing Democrat elected statewide in Montana. Is it shifting? I mean you were - what were you? You were the only Democratic governor elected in a state at the same time that Trump won in '16, I mean, he won like by 20 points. So, you know how to defy the odds. You worked at then. But are things shifting in Montana?

BULLOCK: You know, look, I think 2020, with Covid, with everything was difficult. But, I mean, the beauty of it is that Montanans do know Jon Tester. You know, the - we are folks that say more important than who the party is, who's going to represent me. And what Tester has done all - every step of the way is actually represents the concerns of those that worry about public lands, where Tim Sheehy wants to shut them down. Those are veterans. Public education. And making sure that women continue to have access to reproductive health care. And those are the things that Jon Tester has done. Those are also the things that matter lots of Montanans.

BOLDUAN: You've got another interesting aspect in connection to the - to the presidential race this time around. You served alongside Tim Walz on Trump's bipartisan governor - council of governors appointed by Trump in 2019. It was a two-year term for you guys.

What is the coordination like with then President Trump and the council? More importantly, do you recall the president interacting with Governor Walz at the time?

BULLOCK: Look, yes, so I was on the bipartisan council of governors with Governor Walz. He's been a good friend of mine since he became governor. And President Trump did not interact with us, but we actually had to stand up at times to say, you know what, like things like posse comitatus or changes to the insurrection act should not happen. And we saw that Democrats and Republicans actually fighting for the state interests.

[09:10:04]

I did not see, directly to your point, I never saw President Trump interacting. I do recall, through the times of Covid and George Floyd, where Trump was actually praising Tim Walz. And Tim Walz is a guy, look, you know, he served his country. He served the students along the way. He's somebody that actually has served our nation and its people, not just themselves.

BOLDUAN: Did you get a sense that because - compare that to what I've - we have heard from Donald Trump now, which he considers Walz's views extreme as he calls them now. Back then did you get the sense that he considered Governor Walz's views extreme back then?

BULLOCK: Not at all.

Look, you know, we've seen this time and time again that all of a sudden that Donald Trump completely changes his tone and character depending on what happens. That, you know, Tim Walz is a guy - he served an area, not unlike that I served in as much as ex-urban areas throughout his time in Congress. He's a guy that you'd want to have a beer with or go hunting with. And for Donald Trump to all of a sudden try to turn him into the bogeyman, it's - it's one of those things that authenticity and joy actually show through. And that's who Tim Walz is.

And I - whatever I think that Donald Trump tries to do, people will see the Tim Walz that I know well.

BOLDUAN: You're getting at something I wanted to ask you about and I've asked you about it before. I think today is an important day. I very much remember your op-ed. It was back in December 2021. The headline to remind everyone was, "my fellow Democrats, you need to get out of the city more." And here was your point back then. You said, "I was re-elected as Montana's governor in 2016 at the same time Donald Trump took our state by more than 20 points. It's never easy for Democrats to get elected in Montana because Democrats here are running against not only the opponent on the ballot but also against a conservative media and, at times, our own typecast of the national Democratic brand, coastal, overly educated, elitist judgmental, socialist, a bundle of identity groups and interests lacking any shared principles. The problem isn't the candidates we nominate, it's the perception of the party we belong to."

That was in 2021. Do you think that is the problem Democrats still face today? Do you think Democrats have heated your warning at all since '21?

BULLOCK: Yes, Kate, I think the Democrats still often fall into exactly that, and it is a problem. But then again, like let's look at where Tim Walz has been, right? He said he wants to make Minnesota the best state in the country for families. When he passed his child tax credit, when he passed his paid family medical leave, when he allows lunches for kids in schools, like those are sort of those bread and butter issues that the economic issues that I was talking about in that op-ed and I think that will resonate with people, because the Democratic brand at times, look, and you see - you see Trump and Vance trying to do that on a daily basis, change it into something that is a heck of a lot worse. I mean Tim Walz is largely focused on those issues that people talk about it at the bar, along the fence line, or around their own kitchen tables.

BOLDUAN: Governor, it's always good to see you. Thank you so much for coming in. And hunting season's right around the corner. It's good to see you.

BULLOCK: We - we have to go this time, Kate. Great seeing you as well.

BOLDUAN: You've now said it on television, so it has to happen.

It's good to see you. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, new body camera video shows the moment a police officer locked eyes with a man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump. We will let you see it for yourself in just a few seconds.

Plus, it looks like a trust news site, but it's really created by foreign actors trying to interfere with the presidential election. A new warning about how Iran is attempting to interfere here for this campaign.

And Donald Trump says the U.S. economy is heading towards a recession. Actually a depression. Is the market actually signaling any of that whatsoever? We're moments away from the opening bell.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:40]

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, Microsoft says Iran is creating fake news websites in an effort to target U.S. voters and interfere with the November presidential election. It was just last month that U.S. intelligence revealed Iran was using covert social media accounts to undermine Donald Trump's campaign.

CNN anchor and chief national security analyst, Jim Sciutto, is joining us live here in Washington for us. Jim, what are you learning about these fake news sites, what people

need to be watching out for, if you will?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, this is a classic and quite frequent M.O., not just for Iran, but also for China and Russia, countries that frequently interfere in our politics and elections.

This particular one from Iran seem to have two intentions. One, to undermine Donald Trump with posts on social media such as calling him an "opioid pilled elephant in the MAGA china shop," as well as other things. It was a fake website. They also had a website that caters to left-leaning audiences, again attempting to influence the election. And in addition to going after Donald Trump, it also was diving into controversial issues in this country in a way to just further divisions - divisions here and undermine social cohesion. Again, this is - this is an intent that they share with Russia and China.

[09:20:01]

It goes back years. Russia, China, you see lots of activity in any issue of the day. We saw it during the Black Lives Matter protests. We saw it during any debate over trans issues, going back to take a knee Colin Kaepernick, you know, years ago. So, it's a frequent M.O. for these countries with both those intentions. And some of them go after, try to undermine Donald Trump. Some have tried to prop him up. Russian interference going back to 2016.

And just as an example as to how far countries are willing to go, this happened to me just a few months ago, that Vietnam targeted me, as well as U.S. lawmakers and others via Twitter with an attempt to plant spyware as they were going through coverage of a deal they were negotiating with China. So, you have a lot of countries operating in this space with a lot of different intentions.

And listen, it's a no holds bar - barred environment. We all have to be careful with how we not only get targeted by this, but also how we are influenced potentially by the misinformation and disinformation.

SIDNER: Yes, and how we engage also, not knowing exactly who the players are. That's one of the issues with social media.

I do want to shift gears here and talk about what is happening between Russia and Ukraine. I know you and I, we spent - we spent months reporting.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SIDNER: And overnight we saw this major drone strike on a Russian airbase just a day after another strike happened in Kursk.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SIDNER: What can you tell us about the Ukrainian - what seems to be a bit of a change in strategy. I know they were using drones every now and then would go into Russia. But this seems different. SCIUTTO: Yes. The drone strike, it's consequential. They've had -

they've had enormous success attacking sites inside Russia, refineries, and elsewhere. We've seen that before.

What's new in the last 48 hours is a major ground offensive across the border into Russian territory. Just over the northeast border of Ukraine, into the Kursk region, which we haven't seen before since the start of the full-scale invasion two and a half years ago, but even going back to ten years ago when Russia first invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine. And they're still there. And they're advancing. And they seem to have caught Russian forces off guard. There have been surrenders by numerous Russian forces. And you're starting to see members of the public in social media saying, what's happening here. You know, they're clearly fearful.

I've been told by U.S. and Ukrainian officials that these forces are a mix of regular units as well as special operations units. And that's notable, Sara, because previous operations behind Russian lines inside Russian territory have often been small groups, sometimes Ukrainian sympathizers in Russia. This is really a full force, full throated Ukrainian ground incursion into Russia and it continues. It's a big change in the face of this war.

SIDNER: It really is. Most of the time they've been trying to win some of their own territory back.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SIDNER: Now, they are attacking Russia as Russia continues to attack them.

Thank you so much, Jim Sciutto, for all of that this morning. Appreciate you.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Well, a new vantage point of the chaotic moments before and right after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Bodycam footage of police confronting the shooter just moments before he opened fire on that campaign rally.

And a lot of reactions about Noah Lyles' decision to compete in the 200 meter Olympic final after testing positive for Covid.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:56]

BOLDUAN: This morning, a new look at the moment a Pennsylvania police officer saw Donald Trump's would-be assassin on a rooftop overlooking the former president's rally. It's footage taken less than a minute before the gunman began opening - began shooting. And you can see an officer being hoisted up to the rooftop where the gunman is. He sees the shooter and almost immediately drops back down, shouting a warning to the other officers around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch out because he can (INAUDIBLE) come right down on you over there. He's got a bookbag. He's got (INAUDIBLE) AR laying down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). He's got (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's got a (INAUDIBLE). He's laying down, prone down, bookbag next to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Danny Freeman has more on this in this new vantage point, as body camera footage that's been released.

What more are you learning from it?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, listen, this is a moment that we have heard about essentially since the moment that shooting happened. This moment where an officer hoisted himself up. But this is the first time that we're actually seeing it. And we're rolling some of this video right now. You can see on your screen right here. This is part of a trove of body camera footage that we got from the Butler Township Police Department late yesterday.

You can see right here, this officer is looking around the area of the AGR building. We've reported that officers were talking to the crowds. He then goes back around the AGR building, hoists himself - let me go back here. You can see it right here. So he's looking around the AGR building, looking up at the roof. This officer, I should note, was actually just driving around the venue. He was called in to go investigate potentially a shooter or person on the roof. He goes up to a fellow officer, then hoists himself up onto this ledge. Kate, this is about 40 seconds before the gunshots will ring out. He's up there only for a moment, drops down. And look at the change in tone of that officer's body language. He runs away. And then this footage later on, we see that same officer get a chance to hoist backup and ultimately learn that Crooks - Thomas Matthew Crooks, the shooter, has been shot.

The other thing that we're learning from this particular body camera footage, though, Kate, is a lot of frustration really immediately after that shooting happens from local law enforcement towards the Secret Service.

[09:30:05]

Take a listen to what one local law enforcement officer said only ten minutes after the shooting.