US Government Caught Using Chinese AI, Accused of Using Pirated Technology
The United States government has been found to be using a Chinese-made artificial intelligence (AI) model to assist in searching for proposed federal regulations. However, this occurs at a time when Chinese AI developers are being accused of imitating technology from US AI firms.
The Federal Register website, managed by the National Archives, briefly provided a search feature based on QUTwen, an AI model created by Alibaba. This feature was intended to help users navigate public comments regarding draft federal regulations.
According to a Reuters report, the feature was available on Wednesday (16/9) but was subsequently removed after its use sparked significant discussion on social media. It remains unclear when the Qwen feature was first implemented.
The use of Chinese AI has come under intense scrutiny because, only a week prior, the FBI accused Alibaba of engaging in the dangerous copying of technology belonging to the US firm Anthropic. US officials have even claimed that Chinese AI companies are performing large-scale industrial copying of US technology, a claim which China has denied.
Daniel Castro from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation remarked that the use of Qwen contradicts the ongoing AI technology competition between the US and China. “This is one of the craziest things I have ever seen,” said Castro.
Nevertheless, security experts suggest that the use of Qwen on the Federal Register does not necessarily pose a national security risk, as the website contains information that is already available to the public.
US Representative John Moolenaar remains opposed to the US government using Chinese AI. “No federal government entity should be using Chinese AI models. Doing so only makes the federal government more dependent on Chinese AI models, and that is not in the national interest,” stated Moolenaar.
US Senator Mark Warner also highlighted data security concerns. According to Warner, the risk depends on whether US data leaves government security boundaries and is processed on systems controlled by Alibaba.