Cloud Hosting

Officials at the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC)warned on Fridaythat Chinas pursuit of artificial intelligence (AI) technology could havemajor implications for the future of the military and economic competition between the two nations. Among other topics, the warnings restated the U.S. warning against private companies in key areas allowing Chinese investment or expertise, urging them to take significant precautions in protecting their intellectual property.

Under the Trump and Biden administrations, relations between Washington and Beijing have steadily become more acrimonious, with increasing consensus from Americas national security agencies that China represents a strategic threat to the United States. Although Biden has made statements advising againstthe creation of a new Cold War with China, and advocated in favor of working together on mutual concerns such as climate change, relations have still remained tenseparticularly since the onset of thecoronaviruspandemic, when the United States reproached China over for its failure to share certain information about the viruss origins. For its part, Beijing has accused Washington of acting in bad faith.

Artificial intelligence has taken on a particularly prominent role in the Chinese government, which has pushed it, along with other high-tech industries such as robotics, as part of its Made in China 2025 development strategy. It is beyond dispute that much of the know-how for these projects was obtained, licitly or illicitly, from the United States, whichby the Trump administrations estimateloses $600billionof intellectual property to China each year.

The acting director of the NCSC, Michael Orlando, told reporters in a rare press conference that the United Statescould not afford to lose the race to develop new technology with China inkey high-security areas, including AI technology, quantum computing, and semiconductor development.

Orlando, however, stopped short of advising businesses to ban Chinese investment or recommending other policies to reverse the loss of intellectual property.

One area of particular concern to the NCSC has been biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, where China has made considerable acquisitions in the past two years. The agency has warned that Chinese-linked firms in the United Statesbenefit from American medical data, which is returned to Beijing.

Orlando underlined that these developments had to be understood as part of Beijings desire to expand its technical knowledge, rather than the initiative of individual Chinese corporations, which were subservient to the state.

TrevorFilsethis a current and foreign affairs writer for theNational Interest.

Image: Reuters

Follow this link:
China Rapidly Developing Artificial Intelligence, Officials Warn - The National Interest