US Intelligence on Friday expressed concern about China’s development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other technologies that could put Beijing ahead of Washington in the military and other fields.
The U.S. Center for National Counterintelligence and Security (NCSC) noted in a report that China is aiming to take the lead in several emerging technologies by 2030.
“Beijing is focused on technologies that will be crucial to its economic and military future,” says the document, citing biotechnology, advanced computing and AI as examples.
To that end, the NCSC – a center under the umbrella of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines – warned that China is trying “legally, almost legally and illegally” to acquire technology and “know-how” (to know do) from USA and other nations.
According to the report, Beijing does so through investments in science and technology, joint ventures, academic and scientific collaborations, and talent recruitment programs, among others.
In sum, the NCSC described the Asian giant as “a main strategic competitor of Washington, because” it has a well-endowed and global strategy to acquire and use technology to advance its national objectives.
The document also warns against Russia, which “is targeting US advances, employing various legal and illegal technology transfer mechanisms to support efforts at the national level, including its military and intelligence programs.”
The NCSC warned that Moscow increasingly seeks to recruit talent and turns to international scientific collaborations to boost research within its borders, such as Russian military applications of AI.
For these reasons, the NCSC said it is prioritizing its efforts in US technology sectors where the risks are “potentially greatest” to US economic and national security.
Among those sectors he named AI, bioeconomy, autonomous systems, semiconductors and quantum.
“These sectors produce technologies that can determine whether the US remains the world’s superpower or whether it is overshadowed by its strategic competitors in the coming years,” he said. (I)
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