Lawmakers caution that China is utilizing artificial intelligence to unlawfully acquire American intellectual property.
Evidence uncovered by a congressional investigation reveals that China is utilizing artificial intelligence to pilfer American technology and individuals’ data.
The House Judiciary Committee issued an alarm on Thursday, in response to multiple countries cautioning Silicon Valley tech leaders about the threat of China’s tech theft.
The worry of cyberespionage and theft carried out by China is not a recent issue for U.S. officials. However, Rep. Darrell Issa has called on people to be ready for a future where advanced supercomputers predict the actions of their opponents.
Mr. Issa, a Republican from California, stated that the Chinese government engages in the proactive utilization of AI to not only pilfer genuine intellectual property but also to obstruct and unjustly deprive legitimate inventors of their intellectual property.
The intellectual property panel of the Judiciary Committee sought input from former American intelligence officials, such as William C. Hannas, a former CIA officer.
Mr. Hannas, now an analyst at Georgetown University, told the subcommittee on Thursday that he built a program for the spy agency to track China’s tech transfers.
He mentioned that the technology transfer programs of the communist power can be traced back to 1956 and are becoming increasingly perilous with the emergence of AI.
“I cannot reword”
The United States and its partners have concerns. Christopher A. Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), recently organized a meeting in California with intelligence directors from Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand. The purpose of the gathering was to address the issue of Chinese theft of technological advancements. This event marked the first public appearance of these intelligence chiefs as a group.
Mr. Wray stated that the Chinese Communist Party intends to utilize unlawfully obtained artificial intelligence to enhance its hacking endeavors.
Mr. Wray stated that in most cases, the response to the inquiry of whether they are focusing on this technology is affirmative.
The increasing worry about technology theft by China is shared by both political parties.
Rep. Hank Johnson, Georgia Democrat, said AI is increasing China’s ability to conduct sophisticated intrusions that penetrate federal departments, military bases, and businesses nationwide.
Mr. Johnson stated that China has conducted tests on groups of drones powered by artificial intelligence, employed AI-generated propaganda to influence U.S. politics, and unlawfully acquired AI technology from American companies.
China is said to have targets that go beyond America’s high-skilled tech industry and also include the financial resources of people across the country.
Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York, stated that Beijing is persistently attempting to acquire Americans’ data in order to enhance its AI technology.
“I am unable to reword the text as it does not require any changes.”
He stated that China’s forceful methods of gathering Americans’ data have caused a merging of public and private information collection boundaries.
American policymakers are seeking solutions to counter the technology drain caused by the advancement of AI in China.
Mr. Hannas recommended the federal government establish a National Science and Technology Analysis Center outside the intelligence community to forecast, analyze, diminish and interdict foreign threats to U.S. science and technology.
“I, as a member of the United States Intelligence Community (USIC), acknowledge my responsibility and support the idea of holding USIC accountable for not adequately prioritizing the pursuit of science and technology intelligence, specifically in identifying and monitoring foreign S&T threats.”
