Senator Schmitt: “China’s implementation of artificial intelligence has allowed for mass surveillance of innocent Chinese citizens who have no chance at privacy.”

“Big Tech companies like Google need to have the moral backbone to resist grandiose overtures of market-access and increased profits in exchange for intellectual property rights that could ultimately be used as a tool in an authoritarian regime.”

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Schmitt questioned witnesses on China’s AI capabilities and slammed Google’s departure from the Department of Defense’s Project Maven while operating an A.I. research center in Beijing, China: Watch here

Background

• China’s implementation of artificial intelligence has allowed for mass surveillance of innocent Chinese citizens who have no chance at privacy.
• In 2017, Google opened up the “Google AI China Center”, which focused on basic A.I. research in Beijing, while also engaging in A.I. research under the Chinese Communist Party. At the same time, Google shunned the Department of Defense and broke ties with DoD’s Project Maven because of alleged ethical concerns.
  • Shortly after Google opened up its AI China Center, it erased its longtime motto “Don’t be Evil”.
• On July 20, 2017, China’s State Council issued a seminal document entitled A New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan. This document charted the country’s approach to developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology and applications.
  • Following the 2017 A.I. strategy, China ranked number one globally in 2020 for the number of research papers on AI and the number of AI related patents.

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