FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday said he is “deeply concerned” about the Chinese government’s artificial intelligence (AI) program, adding that it is “not constrained by the rule of law.”
Speaking at a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wray said Beijing’s AI ambitions are “built on top of massive troves of intellectual property and sensitive data that they’ve stolen over the years.”
He said that if left unchecked, China could use advancements in AI to further its hacking operations, intellectual property theft and repression of dissidents inside the country and beyond.
Photo: AP
“That’s something we’re deeply concerned about, and I think everyone here should be deeply concerned about,” he said.
More broadly, “AI is a classic example of a technology where I have the same reaction every time. I think: ‘Wow, We can do that?’ And then I think: ‘Oh god, they can do that,’” Wray said.
Such concerns have long been voiced by US officials.
In October 2021, US counterintelligence officials issued warnings about China’s ambitions in AI as part of a renewed effort to inform business executives, academics, and local and state government officials about the risks of accepting Chinese investment or expertise in key industries.
Earlier that year, an AI commission led by Eric Schmidt, a former CEO of Google parent Alphabet Inc, urged the US to boost its AI skills to counter China, including by pursuing “AI-enabled” weapons.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on Wray’s remarks.
Beijing has repeatedly accused Washington of fearmongering and attacked US intelligence for its assessments of China.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
RSS