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Connect the World
Ukraine Report Outline Wagner Mercenaries' Brutality; Germany Receives Poland's Request to Transfer Tanks; California Reeling after Three Mass Shootings in Three Days; Medics from around the World help Ukraine in Bakhmut; What is the Controversial new ChatGPT AI Technology; Steven Spielberg gets 9th Best Director Nomination. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 24, 2023 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNNI HOST: I'm Eleni Giokos. Hello and welcome back to the second hour of "Connect the World". We are live in Dubai. Now after weeks
of uncertainty, Germany appears close to a decision on whether to approve the transfer of its battle tanks to Ukraine.
Germany confirmed today it has received Poland's formal request to allow the transfer of leopard two tanks and will consider it with "Necessary
urgency". In Ukraine today, the government announced a spate of resignations, including the Deputy Defense Minister, you see his
resignation letter here also resigning President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Deputy Chief of Staff.
We've got Frederik Pleitgen in Kyiv for us to give us a sense of what is going on. I want to start with the tanks, Poland's request officially in
the German say they will act with necessary urgency. But the ball isn't in the court of the Germans right now? They need to make the decision is the
sense that they will budge.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly seems as though the senses though that they will budge it. It seems though
something larger might be in the works. The Germans have certainly said that they want to make a decision as fast as possible.
It's quite interesting is there was a press conference Eleni earlier today with the German Defense Minister, and also the Secretary General of NATO,
where both of them said they believe that a decision could happen very quickly.
Now, what we've been hearing from the Germans is they said they obviously understand the urgency. They need to go through their motions ever. But
they want all this to happen in a broader coalition. They want for instance, the United States to also be on board, possibly with Abrams
tanks.
We know that so far, the U.S. said that it does not want to send Abrams tanks. So certainly, there still seems to be some negotiations that need to
go on in that sphere as well. The Germans for their part, however, have said that they do understand that, for instance, Poland does want to send
these tanks.
The Poles have said that they've asked the Germans for permission. Now the Germans have acknowledged that they have gotten that request from the
Poles. However, the Poles have also said that if the Germans don't give them permission, they want to put together what they call a smaller
coalition to send those leopard two tanks to Ukraine anyway.
Now of course, that's definitely not something that U.S. would want to see or the Germans would want to see because it would indicate that there could
be disunity among the nations that are supporting Ukraine. So right now, it seems as though all sides really working to try and get some sort of
compromise going. But I think the general feeling is that in the not too distant future German leopard two tanks could be headed to Ukraine one way
or another Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yes. As we await that decision, Fred, I want to talk about the Wagner Group. It's been on the front lines. What do we know about the
tactics specifically in Bakhmut?
PLEITGEN: Yes, and this is really interesting and very important, because Bakhmut right now and that area is one of really one of the only places
where the Russians have made any advances at all on the battlefield really going back four months.
You recall that last week, the Wagner Group had said that they took the town of Soledar, which is near Bakhmut. They sold that as being a huge
victory, even though it's really a very small place and essentially a suburb of Bakhmut.
However, it is a group that is also on the radar of the Ukrainians. They understand that this group is fighting very effectively, but also with
complete disregard for their own losses and extremely brutally as well. We got a document from the Ukrainian military.
We obtained that document that detailed some of those tactics and just why Wagner is so effective. Here's what we learned.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice over): As Russia's invasion of Ukraine falters, there's one group that is having some success on the battlefield. The brutally
effective Wagner private military company led by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Wagner, why are we effective and where does this effectiveness come from? He asks, first, we have been fighting for many years probably we are the
most experienced army in the world today. And Ukraine's leadership is alarmed by Wagner's success. CNN has exclusively obtained a military
document outlining Kyiv's assessment of the group.
There are also purely military reasons for Wagner's effectiveness the document says as the command structure and tactics currently employed are
the only ones that are effective for the poorly trained mobilized troops that make up the majority of Russian ground forces.
Ukraine's military filmed this video showing Wagner's assault tactics using waves of fighters trying to overwhelm and encircle a Ukrainian position.
[11:05:00]
PLEITGEN (voice over): The tasks are set to be as primitive as possible to achieve the goal, many assault groups are deployed, and attacks can be
carried out for a long period of time without regard to losses, the document says.
The first waves are often convicts essentially used as cannon fodder. The deaths of thousands of Wagner soldiers do not matter to Russian society,
the military document asserts and unauthorized withdrawal of a team or without being wounded is punishable by execution on the spot.
Prigozhin makes no secret of the fact that losses don't matter to him. He recently visited a building where the bodies of the fallen were kept. Their
contracts have ended. They are going home he said. But Prigozhin also claims to respect the Ukrainians defending against his mercenaries saying
they're fighting with valor.
You need to be more careful to send them off in a dignified manner he said while recently overseeing an exchange of bodies between Wagner and the
Ukrainian army. Internally though it's a brutal regime. A pro Wagner social media channel recently posted a video of mercenaries using a sledgehammer
to kill a Former Comrade who allegedly defected and criticized the group.
The word is out on the battlefield too. Ukrainian intelligence intercepted this call, which CNN cannot independently verify of a Russian soldier
talking to a friend about Wagner.
Still Wagner's morale seems high, the Ukrainian say, and the fighters are often better equipped and Russia's regular forces thanks to what the
Ukrainians claim is U.S. made technology. In contrast to the Russian Armed Forces, Wagner's main means of communication are American made radio relay
stations and Motorola walkie-talkies, the Ukrainian document says.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: Eleni, we did reach out to the Motorola accompany about all that. And they said, first of all, they stand by or stand with Ukraine and with
NATO. They also said they immediately stopped all of their sales and their operations, both in Russia and in Belarus once Russia invaded Ukraine.
But there were so many interesting things in that military document. One of the other things that we learned as well from that document is that despite
some of the infighting that we've seen, between the Russian Defense Ministry and Wagner, specifically Yevgeny Prigozhin making some remarks
belittling.
Essentially, the Russian Defense Ministry that the Defense Ministry apparently has some recommendations out to use some of those assault
tactics that we've just outlined here in our report that of course, are extremely brutal and pay no regard to own losses, that those could be used
by Russian regular forces as well under certain circumstances Eleni.
GIOKOS: Fred, brilliant reporting. I mean, really striking to hear some of those details primitive tactics used, in some instances, a punishment
withdrawal, and then looking at the fact that there's no worry in terms of losses, really illuminating. Thank you so much for those insights.
I want to move on now and to Ukraine's deepening political shakeup. More than a dozen officials, including many higher ups in the Ukrainian
government have quit or been shown the door. The resignations include the Deputy Defense Minister, Deputy Prosecutor General, Deputy Minister of
Development of Communities and Territories, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Deputy Chief of Staff.
They also include several leaders of the regions at the very heart of the war. They follow a series of corruption scandals with a Zelenskyy adviser
saying the President "Sees and hears society". So what does this say about what's going on behind the scenes? And what impact could this have on the
war?
I'm joined now via Skype by Oleksiy Sorokin. He is a Senior Editor with the Online Newspaper "The Kyiv, Independent". Good to have you on and frankly,
what a shake up? What a scandal in the middle of a war distraction that the government doesn't need right now? But it's actually the work of the
journalists that has lifted the veil of what's going on. Could you take us through how this happened? How these stories were uncovered?
OLEKSIY SOROKIN, SENIOR EDITOR, KYIV INDEPENDENT: Yes, over the past week, there were a number of high profile investigations made by journalists
about top Ukrainian officials, most of them concerning road construction also misappropriation of funds in the Defense Ministry and so on.
[11:10:00]
SOROKIN: And we see the result of courageous journalists work right now that Zelenskyy's Office has to sack basically a number of officials who
discredited not only their own ministry, right but Ukraine in the eyes of the foreign partners.
GIOKOS: I mean, as you mentioned, some of those allegations, even the Defense Ministry, purchasing some foods for the military at prices that are
two to three times higher than those at Kyiv grocery stores. This is just some of the reporting that local newspapers have conducted. I want to talk
about the timing of this reshuffle and what it means for President Zelenskyy?
SOROKIN: Yes, the scandal with the food prices in the Defense Ministry is the biggest scandal of all of them, especially right now when Ukraine is
desperately in need of foreign time's foreign artillery, planes and so on.
Also, there was a very big output, when the Defense Minister basically brushed off all corruption allegations, and even promised to go after the
whistleblower who presented the documents to journalists. So this was very worrying. And it's actually good right now that the President's Office is
responding.
And we know the Deputy Head of the Defense Ministry was now fired. He was in charge of recruitment. And I think this is only the first step and
Ukraine publicly at least fighting corruption.
GIOKOS: I guess the question then becomes what does this mean for the fight on the ground? What does it mean militarily? Or does this pertain mostly to
the way that certain regions are managed? How should this be viewed in terms of how it will impact the war?
SOROKIN: Well, I don't think it's - I don't think it's going to have any impact on the war itself, because Governors don't lead defenses. They don't
take part in military action. They're mostly in charge of the civilian sector of restoration, repairs of organizing food supplies, and so on road
construction, right, where corruption was spotted.
I think this is a good step in forming the image of Ukraine fighting against corruption, because this is important, not for the war's outcome,
but for the future of Ukraine, right? We're right now we're fighting against a deeply corrupt authoritarian regime, and Ukraine, showing that it
has zero tolerance to corruption will, I think, be beneficial in the long run?
Obviously, it's pretty bad that even during war, a number of officials, especially in the Defense Ministry, were allegedly stealing funds, and some
of them may be stealing funds even that were donated, and granted by the West, which is absolutely awful.
But it's good that right now, instead of hiding this under the rug, first journalist uncovered and then Zelenskyy's administration actually goes
forward alleges that this may have happened and fires the Ukrainian officials.
GIOKOS: Yes, and it happens really quickly, a big turnaround. This all happening, while Ukraine is requesting for modern tanks. The German
parliament announcing that they will be debating the question on sending leopard tanks. Poland has just sent in a formal request to be able to send
their tanks to Ukraine.
I want you to give me a sense on how this conversation is being looked upon from the Ukrainian perspective as Germany tries to make a decision on this
front.
SOROKIN: Well, to be honest, it's a bit absurd now at this point, because we know that Ukraine will receive those texts. The pressure in Germany is
so high that Germany will eventually I even think in the next 48 hours will agree to send at least the tanks that Poland is offering right?
But to be so out of touch to drag this on for so long, raises eyebrows in Ukraine because we know that tens even hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers are
dying in the east daily and every week Ukrainians are injured and killed in for example Bakhmut.
We also know that Russia will - is expecting to launch a new offensive in the end of February. So dragging on this question which basically is vital
for Ukraine's survival is very absurd from Ukrainian side because we know that eventually the West will provide the weapons needed.
[11:15:00]
SOROKIN: This happens with high immerses that happened with light tanks that were delivered by France and so on, right. But every day, people die.
And the longer Germany waits, the more people get killed. And I have no idea why Germany is dragging this for so long.
GIOKOS: You mentioned, you know, come the spring, the Russian offense of you knows, and obviously Ukraine's reaction in terms of a reshuffle,
government reshuffles ahead of that. What is the word right now on the ground in terms of what that would look like?
SOROKIN: Well, the question here is that because both Russia and Ukraine are preparing a major offensive, Ukraine needs Western weapons to be able
first to defend itself and then to retake the occupied regions right. And right now, is the time when Ukraine can prepare.
And I think it's now or never to basically clear both the president's office, the governor posts and some of the ministries from officials who
might actually slow down Ukraine's response to Russian advances because corruption is the biggest enemy of Ukraine right now, aside from Russia.
And there was even a saying in Ukraine that Russian corruption is the biggest ally of Ukraine because the more Ukrainians in government steal
from Ukrainian people, the worse the situation is going to be on the ground.
And I think that the next weeks or so will be very vital in a sense that we'll see how serious Zelenskyy's administration is to first out those
officials and then to punish those who are alleged of corruption. Because if right now, the response is going to be so serious, I think eventually in
the long run this will help Ukraine to fight Russia.
GIOKOS: Oleksiy Sorokin, thank you very much for joining us. Good to have you on the show. Much appreciate it.
SOROKIN: Thank you.
GIOKOS: A tragic start to the lunar new year in the U.S. state of California with back to back mass shootings, we'll examine the timeline and
what the suspects have in common plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once I knew he was there, very likely he was either he was either injured or unfortunately passed away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: A son remembers his father who was gunned down in one of those California shootings that's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
GIOKOS: Waves of shock and grief reverberating through California back-to- back shootings have left 19 people dead there in a matter of days, many others are wounded and authorities are scrambling for answers. The vigils
and memorials continue in Monterey Park near Los Angeles where the death toll rose to 11 after one of those wounded in Saturday's mass shooting died
in hospital.
And north of there on Monday, there were multiple tragic shootings in the San Francisco area. CNN's Veronica Miracle explains how the events played
out in Half Moon Bay.
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The mass shooting that took place here in Half Moon Bay happened at two separate locations. Seven people were
killed and one person is still critically injured. The first 911 call came in just before 2.30 where deputies were responding to record the shooting
with multiple victims.
And when they arrived at that first location, they discovered four bodies including a fifth person who was critically injured than a short distance
away, they found another three bodies for a total of seven people killed. This happened in the afternoon after school. And in one of these locations,
at least some of these victims live and worked at that location.
And so, there were children present who had to witness this massacre just absolutely unspeakable. Now a couple hours after that first 911 call came
in, Deputy Sheriff's Deputy discovered a 67-year-old - Chun Li Zhao sitting in a car in the parking lot of a police substation where he subsequently
turned himself in and they were able to arrest him relatively without incident.
All of that happened and unfolded right in front of news cameras as this took place. It is unclear exactly what the motive is why this happened. But
if authorities believed that Zhao worked at one of the locations where one of these shootings took place, they believe that he acted alone, and they
believe that there was no longer a threat to the community. Of course, this community stills very much reeling. Here's what the vice mayor had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOAQUIN JIMENEZ, HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA VICE MAYOR: This is something we get to watch on the news. Never think that it's going to come and hit home
today, we - the news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIRACLE: There are so many similarities between this mass shooting here and the one that happened just a couple of days ago in Monterey Park in
Southern California. Both of the suspects are older Asian gentleman, both of them suspected of going after other Asian individuals. And this is
during a time that is supposed to be incredibly joyful for many Asian communities.
It's what happened right after Lunar New Year, so many people reeling and trying to recover from both of these tragedies. Veronica Miracle CNN Half
Moon Bay!
GIOKOS: Well, while police worked to determine the motive for the shooting in Monterey Park over the weekend, families who lost their loved ones in
that attack are turning to their community for comfort and support. People brought notes of sympathy and flowers to vigil on Monday evening. CNN's
David Culver has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the chilled glow of candlelight, the Monterey Park community gathers to honor the 11 lives
taken and nine still recovering. Images like these with flowers, balloons and tributes, you know them well. You've seen them before, and you will see
them again. A community vigil following a mass shooting, it's become disturbingly routine, except when it's your loved one their gathering for.
CULVER (on camera): The one that we have, I just want to see if this was OK.
CULVER (voice over): Val Anthony Alvero helping me chooses the photo that best depicts his dad. He liked this one.
VAL ANTHONY ALVERO, SON OF SHOOTING VICTIM VALENTINO ALVERO: Yes, it's a good picture I think it represents his attitude towards everything.
CULVER (voice over): Always upbeat and caring for others. That's how Anthony sums up his dad and namesake, Valentino Aveiro, or Val. He says the
68-year-old hospitality worker hope to retire in a year or so and plan to return to his native Philippines. In his free time, you'd find him here at
Star Ballroom Dance Studio moving to the music.
CULVER (on camera): Growing up was he dancing a lot?
ALVERO: That's around the house or saying stuff like that; he loves that kind of stuff.
CULVER (voice over): Video from last year posted on social media showing one of the many joy filled gatherings at Star dance. On Saturday night as
Val and dozens of others celebrated the Lunar New Year hear gunfire Cut the music short and destroyed so many lives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Additional units requested multiple victims' gunshot wound.
CULVER (voice over): Anthony says he heard about the shooting Sunday morning.
CULVER (on camera): And did you ever think maybe somebody I know is involved?
ALVERO: Though definitely not as I read the article or they heard it was a dance studio. It crossed my mind.
CULVER (on camera): You thought about your dad potentially?
ALVERO: Yes, because he's not to have a reason to run away from danger. Once I knew he was there, very likely he was either he was either injured
or unfortunately one of the ones that passed away.
[11:25:00]
CULVER (voice over): He was among the dead along with 10 others. May -- Nan's family writing in a statement that Saturday was her last dance, adding that if you knew her, you know her warm smile was contagious. She
was a loving aunt, sister, daughter and friend, her dance teacher telling Erin Burnett.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing comes to my mind is her smile. She would always smile I've I don't even know I don't even think I've ever seen her
without a smile. Even you know the mask into her eyes smiling.
CULVER (voice over): While Anthony wants to know more about his father's last moments; he says anger hasn't really surfaced.
ALVERO: I don't think it adds anything to be angry to situation. You know what happened kind of change it. I just like for you know, better to come
out of it right. The biggest thing I'd want other people to take away and I think regardless of this situation, I think it's always so important is
just a character typing with other people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: And yet another deadly shooting this one in the U.S. state of Iowa. Police say that 18-year-old suspect press and walls cut off a quarter
ordered GPS ankle monitor prior to Monday shooting. He's been arrested and charged in what police believe was a gang related shooting at an
educational non-profit organization.
Two students were killed and the program's founder hip hop artist known as --wall keeps was seriously wounded. Police believe this stemmed from an
ongoing dispute. Two other people are also in custody as the investigation continues. A meeting in Amman, but was there a meeting of the minds the
leaders of Jordan and Israel sit down as tensions rise again over holy site.
More on that just ahead plus, after pumping billions of dollars' worth of weapons into Ukraine, Western allies are asking Kyiv to end its war of
attrition in Bakhmut and shift its focus.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his first foray outside Israel since assuming his latest term of office. He
went to Amman, where he and Jordan's King Abdullah talked about the compound around the Al Aqsa Mosque. The king stressed the need for Israel
to respect the site's historical and legal status quo. CNN's Hadas Gold has more from Jerusalem.
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, this was actually Benjamin Netanyahu's first trip abroad since returning to power as prime minister in
late December. And although the distance between Jerusalem and Amman is very close it's not a very long flight between the two cities. It is a very
important relationship.
[11:30:00]
GOLD: So, it's not necessarily a surprise that this was Benjamin Netanyahu's first trip to visit King Abdullah of Jordan but especially
recently when there's been a lot of concerns from countries from Israel's allies and partners around the world and from Jordan over the recent
incoming right-wing government in Israel.
Now, while Benjamin Netanyahu is a well-known figure for King Abdullah, the two have known each other for some time, this new government is different.
It's the most Right Wing in Israeli history, and there have been some recent events specifically around Jerusalem's holiest site that have caused
some concern for the Jordanians who have a very special role to play.
Because they are the traditional custodians of some of the holiest sites in Jerusalem, especially the Al Aqsa Mosque compounds also known as the Temple
Mount. It's the holiest site for Jews and the third holiest site for Muslims. And for decades, there has been a status quo there now that some
say is a crumbling status quo.
But it says that only Muslims can pray and visit at the compound at any time and non-Muslims can visit at specific hours, but non-Muslims are not
allowed to pray there. And some members of Netanyahu's new government want to change that. Itamar Ben Gvir, he's the new National Security Minister.
He actually went up to the compound to Temple Mount Haram al-Sharif to visit earlier in January. And that caused some concern that it could
inflame tensions that have already been high across Israel.
And the Palestinian territory somehow, even further, that didn't seem to bear anything out, but it does cause a lot of concern. Now in the readout
of the meeting of King Abdullah and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Jordanian side said that King Abdullah stressed the need for Israel to respect the
historical and legal status quo of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.
And while Netanyahu's read out from the Prime Minister's office doesn't specifically mention the status quo in Jerusalem. They talked more about
the strategic partnerships between the two countries. We know that Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly committed to earlier in January that he would
maintain the status quo and Israeli media is reporting that he made that same commitment directly to King Abdullah in their meeting today, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. The lights are back on in Pakistan power has been
restored after blackout left some 220 million people in the dark on Monday. Officials still do not know for certain what caused the nationwide outage.
But Pakistan's Energy Minister blamed a lack of investment in the power grid in recent years. Tehran says it will retaliate soon for sanctions
imposed on Iran by the West. Iran's foreign ministry says "The Islamic Republic will soon announce a list of new sanctions against the human
rights violators of the EU and England Tehran's words.
Now the U.S. and EU and UK have all been stepping up the pressure over Iran's crackdown on protests. Lebanese judiciary officials are at odds over
the investigation into the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion. A judge unexpectedly reopened it calling eight new people for questioning, but the
Attorney General says the investigation remains suspended.
The investigation has been paralyzed by deep political resistance. Back now to the fast-moving developments in the war in Ukraine Poland's Prime
Minister says he's planning to ask the EU for reimbursement for any Leopard 2 tanks his country sends to Ukraine.
But Poland is still waiting on Germany to give the OK to send the tanks to Ukraine urgently needs. Meantime, a number of senior Ukrainian officials
have resigned or were fired by the Ukrainian president who is cleaning house as a corruption scandal grows. Our Ben Wedeman is in Bakhmut as
Russian forces advanced and show us how the dire situation is playing out there. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eli Worth-Jones is a long way from his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. A medic,
he's delivering supplies to residents just a few 100 yards from Russian lines in Bakhmut. He does it because he can.
ELI WORTH-JONES, FRONT LINE MEDICS: Young trained for this is what I do for a living. And there's a lot of people need to hear and like to be here to
stay with the - stepped on.
WEDEMAN (voice over): He lives with a group called frontline medics and you can't get much more front line than this. Fellow medic Kurt Erickson from
Norway explains how they work.
[11:35:00]
KURT ERIKSEN, FRONT LINE MEDICS: You got a list of patients, but we don't really know what's wrong with them. So, we don't have any ID before you see
them and we do assessment.
WEDEMAN (voice over): Our interview cut short by an incoming Russian crowd. At a slightly safer distance from the fighting, they park their mobile
clinic and treat who they can. Alexander says he's - lives in an unheated apartment and he's sufferings from frostbite. They'll take him to a
hospital outside Bakhmut and he couldn't leave a moment sooner. The Russian noose is tightening.
WEDEMAN (on camera): Slowly Russian forces are gaining ground. They're on high ground behind me. They're advancing from the north, and they're
advancing from the south.
WEDEMAN (voice over): Forces yet to come says British volunteers' soldier - -.
DANIEL BURKE, BRITISH VOLUNTEER SOLDIER: --to take his solider to the north we've got to try and do a big pincer movement around Bakhmut. I don't think
I'll try - per se but we're going to call them try go past it free to fields and just cut us off bit by bit.
WEDEMAN (voice over): Yet residents stay on and volunteers of all stripes do what they can do. Victoria Linnik is doing the rounds handing out food
and water.
WEDEMAN (on camera): Are you a little nervous with the situation here?
VICTORIA LINNIK, "GOD WITH US" CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION: Oh, look at me - no.
WEDEMAN (voice over): Nerves of steel as the shelling goes on. Ben Wedeman CNN, Bakhmut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: The fight for Bakhmut has been going on for nearly six months. Now U.S. and Ukrainian sources tell CNN Ukraine's Western allies are urging
Kyiv to cut its losses around Bakhmut and to shift its focus on planning a potential offensive in southern Ukraine.
Officials say the hundreds of armored vehicles the West has provided Ukraine in recent weeks is meant to help make that shift. CNN White House
Reporter Natasha Bertrand joins us live from Washington D.C. We've just seen Ben Wedeman's report.
He was saying you know the Russian news is tightening around Bakhmut. And now we're hearing word that the messaging from Western allies is to leave
Bakhmut and focus elsewhere. What exactly do we know about what the advices from other allies?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Eleni, so the U.S. and its allies are telling Ukraine that they should really cut their losses in the
city of Bakhmut where that fighting has been raging for about six months now really intense World War one style fighting with Russian forces.
And the reason why they're advising the Ukrainians to kind of shift their focus away from Bakhmut and more towards preparing for a counter offensive
in the south is simply because they do not believe that the amount of artillery ammunition and the amount of casualties that Ukraine is expending
in Bakhmut is sustainable. And that is primarily because the Russians, the U.S. and the West believe still have more artillery, ammunition and more
troops that they're willing to expend than the Ukrainians do.
So right now, what the U.S. is saying to the Ukrainians really as part of a kind of give and take with regard to Ukraine, asking the U.S. for military
advice is, you should shift your style of fighting, especially considering all of the Western equipment that we have just devoted to you that new
tanks that the Brits are giving other kind of heavy artillery that the U.S. has provided.
And use that to kind of focus on launching a new offensive in the south around those more strategically important cities along the Black Sea
because ultimately, that is where the U.S. believes Ukraine can make the biggest difference in the war against Russia.
They do not believe at this point that the Ukrainians are going to be able to take back the entirety of the Donbas region. Now, an interesting wrinkle
to this is that President Zelenskyy is still not convinced that the Ukrainians should give up Bakhmut.
He does not believe that it is inevitable that the Russians are going to take the city. And also of course, Bakhmut has become a really important
kind of symbol of defiance for the Ukrainians who have been fighting this kind of grinding battle of attrition with the Russians there for nearly six
months now.
So, it remains to be seen how Zelenskyy approaches this. But for now, the U.S. is advice to the Ukrainians is cut your losses they're focused on
preparing for a much broader offensive in the south where your gains might be more significant Eleni.
GIOKOS: Natasha Bertrand, always good to see you. Thank you so much. And just ahead on "Connect the World" Microsoft is spending billions on the
creator of ChatGPT. So why is the new artificial intelligence tool so controversial will go in search of answers?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
GIOKOS: It's new and its controversial the artificial intelligence tool known as ChatGPT can craft emails and write essays in a matter of seconds.
Microsoft likes it so much. It confirms its pouring billions of dollars into its creator to expand the already existing partnership. But not
everyone is applauding this. Some people are sounding the alarm about the risk of ChatGPT being misused. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins me now live
from New York. Vanessa, great to have you on!
I actually met a couple of kids a few weeks ago that said that use ChatGPT for essays they did not get caught. But then it poses the question what
does this mean for learning? What does it mean for writers? What does it mean for the creative process? And what does it mean for the need of humans
in this entire value chain?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It means a lot for everyone. It means a lot for humanity. There are so many AI
experts that say that ChatGPT is as revolutionary as the internet. You have other AI experts saying that it's a threat to society.
ChatGPT can write Shakespearean sonnets. It can craft cooking recipes. It can even write children's books, but everyone is fascinated by this
everyone from top CEOs to students.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YURKEVICH (voice over): ChatGPT short for Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer is a machine learning model that can generate human like text.
It's been trained on a massive amount of data, allowing it to understand and respond to a wide range of questions and prompts.
YURKEVICH (on camera): What you just heard me reading wasn't written by me it was written by artificial intelligence ChatGPT.
YURKEVICH (voice over): I simply typed in a prompt write a TV news script written by a reporter about ChatGPT. And in just seconds, the AI spit out
the copy you just heard. ChatGPT has exploded in popularity in recent months. CEOs are now using it to write emails. It even passed a Wharton
School of Business exam.
YURKEVICH (on camera): Should people be more excited about ChatGPT or more fearful of it?
GARY MARCUS, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF PSYCHOLOGY AND NEURAL SCIENCE, NYU: I think they should have a mixed view.
YURKEVICH (voice over): Open AI which owns ChatGPT says the technology is still in its research phase and can produce inaccurate information.
YURKEVICH (on camera): You like artificial intelligence, but are you here to issue a warning about it?
MARCUS: Absolutely. Artificial Intelligence is sort of like a teenager right now. It's exciting to see the teenager like, get its footing. But
it's also not there yet and we can't trust it.
[11:45:00]
YURKEVICH (voice over): But Microsoft thinks it's a good bet even with some risks. They're investing billions of dollars in open AI. Jack Po, CEO of
Ansible Health had ChatGPT take three versions of the U.S. medical licensing test and it passed all three.
JACK PO, CEO, ANSIBLE HEALTH: Not only can it answer very complex questions, it can also modulate his answer.
YURKEVICH (voice over): Po and his team of 30 doctors started using the platform to help with treatment for their patients who have COPD or
pulmonary disease.
PO: What this technology could really enable, and has already started enabling us is to suddenly suggest things that we might not be thinking of
at all. It will absolutely save life.
YURKEVICH (voice over): Jake Heller is the Lawyer and founder of case text which helps its clients comb through documents using AI like ChatGPT.
JAKE HELLER, FOUNDER, CASETEXT: You can have it read police reports. You can even have it see if witnesses gave contradictory testimony, you can
almost certainly help find information that is pertinent to your guilt or innocence.
YURKEVICH (voice over): But Paul and Heller both say that human oversight of ChatGPT is still necessary. Open AI says the platform can produce
harmful instructions.
HELLER: In law, there absolutely is right and wrong answers. And that's why your ChatGPT alone is not going to be enough to handle some of the most
important questions in fields like law.
YURKEVICH (voice over): And then there's the question of plagiarism. New York City Public Schools ban ChatGPT on school network devices, due to
concerns about negative impacts on student learning and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content.
EDWARD TIAN, FOUNDER, GPTZERO: It's incredible innovation, but at the same time it's like opening a Pandora's Box.
YURKEVICH (voice over): Which is why Edward Tian a 22-year-old Princeton student himself spent his winter break building GPT zero, which he says can
detect whether something is likely written by a human or ChatGPT. He says teachers use it to check their student's papers.
YURKEVICH (on camera): Is this like one AI cross checking another AI?
TIAN: In a sense, yes.
YURKEVICH (on camera): But can it spot misinformation?
TIAN: Oh, OK. Yes. So as opposed to misinformation, it's more of like it can only spot if something is AI generated or human generated.
YURKEVICH (voice over): And that's the greatest fear of all spreading misinformation. ChatGPT a tool designed to help humanity could ultimately
hurt it.
MARCUS: People who want to manipulate elections and things like that, instead of like writing one thing at a time to be able to write thousands
of things to give, for example, vaccine denialism more oxygen than it deserves.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YURKEVICH: And Gary Marcus, who you heard from right there, he has written books about artificial intelligence. He's founded artificial intelligence
companies. He says that we are about 75 years away from artificial general intelligence, that is where artificial intelligence can act like a human
and make decisions like a human would.
But until then, he says that we need regulation. And this is where the U.S. government is coming into play. Just this week, Representative --Ted Liu
from California, who is a coder himself, said that he plans to introduce legislation that would create a commission on artificial intelligence.
This would be a body that would regulate artificial intelligence here in the U.S. He says Eleni that this is just as important as something like the
FDA, which looks over and keeps track of and monitors food and drugs here in the United States. So, we have a lot to learn about ChatGPT. But of
course right now, it is fascinating so many around the world, Eleni.
GIOKOS: It is indeed fascinating. Thanks for weighing up the pros and cons. But if you do get it to write your emails, at least you can blame any
mistakes on Chat GPT, that's one pro perhaps. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much for that update. Up next on "Connect the World" those little gold
statues that everyone in Hollywood wants will break down the Oscar nominations announced just a short time ago when we come back. Stay with
us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
GIOKOS: The Academy Awards are often full of surprises, but this year the nominations seem to be mostly what everyone was expecting. Indie dialing
everything everywhere all at once scored the most nominations with 11 including Best Picture and Best Director.
And Michelle Yeoh Best Actress nomination, the Banshees of Inisherin was next with nine nominations, including Colin Farrell, receiving his first
ever Oscar nomination for Best Actor. And the German language Netflix film All Quiet on the Western Front also got nine nominations. It was the most
nominated film at the BAFTA is just a few days ago.
And last but not least, we are proud to mention CNN's Navalny was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Here to break us down with us we've got Chloe
Melas, CNN Entertainment Reporter. Good to see you as always. Take me through the nominations, what you're excited about what we could expect.
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: All right. Well, yes, so I mean, let's pat ourselves on the back here at CNN for CNN films being nominated
in the Best Director category. But the movies that I think that everybody is talking about today, our Top Gun Avatar being nominated for Best Picture
you know, it's a really big deal because this is the tides shifting when it comes to the Academy Awards.
We're normally you see more of like the indie films being nominated and look everywhere, everything, everything everywhere all at once is leading
the way with 11 nominations. So, you may very well see that movie, win Best Picture. But I still think it's awesome for Top Gun Avatar, these big
blockbuster movies, many crediting Tom Cruise with you know, bring him back movies this summer, you know, Top Gun grossing over a billion at the box
office worldwide.
So that's, you know, a really incredible thing and then, you know, I also just want to point out a lot of people saying like, is it even possible for
Avatar or for Top Gun to win Best Picture. And I just look back at some of the blockbusters that have won in years past but it's been a while Titanic,
you had Forrest Gump.
You know, there you know, there are moments where those movies can win. So, it'll be interesting to see and also interesting to see if these boosts
ratings do more people tune in to see if that happens. Now, I was disappointed to see the Tom Cruise not nominated in the Best Actor
category. But one that I was excited to see was Angela Bassett, being nominated for Black Panther Best Supporting Actress and this is a really
big moment for Marvel.
It's the first time that they're seeing an acting nod you know for an Oscar and you're getting that from this movie with Angela Bassett. And you know
Angela Bassett, if she wins; she's going to give like an amazing speech.
And I feel like she's just one of those people in Hollywood, her Jennifer Coolidge, Meryl Streep, you know, they're the ones that give the best
speeches. You know, there are some snubs. You know, a lot of people talking about how Will Smith not nominated for emancipation? I think a lot of that
probably has to do with the Oscars slap last year.
You know, he's banned from attending the Oscars for like the next 10 years. Doesn't mean you couldn't get nominated. But that film was getting a lot of
buzz and that was a big moment. And that film was overlooked and also, in the best director category all men being nominated.
People are upset saying that Oscar is so male this year. We did see female directors when in years past like Chloe Zhao, but a lot of people upset
that it's all men being nominated, but I was happy to see Steven Spielberg nominated for The Fablemans. That's a movie that everybody is talking
about.
But look, I mean, there's so many movies that are out there that people need to see one that I just saw the other day was The Banshees of Inisherin
that you were just talking about, and that's a great, great movie. That is your second when it comes to nominations right behind everything, everyone
all at once.
But you still have time The Oscars are not until March 12. So, there's still time to start watching these movies. But I have to say I'm so happy
about Top Gun.
[11:55:00]
GIOKOS: Look, I have to I seriously have to put some effort into watching some of these movies because I've just been watching too much CNN, Chloe.
But I also have to admit that I do also have my own little Oscar given to me by my daughter for best mom. Does that count?
MELAS: Oh my gosh, that's so sweet. My little boys, they don't do that. I come home from work. And they're like, what toy did you bring me? You know,
I'm like, are you kidding me? I want that's so sweet. You deserve it. That does count.
GIOKOS: You should get one Chloe. Good to see you, Chloe Melas, as always.
MELAS: Great to see you too.
GIOKOS: Thank you so very much for joining us for "Connect the World". I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. You have a great evening, take care.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:00]
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