A U.S. government national security advisory body has recommended that U.S. colleges and universities take specific steps to stop the theft of sensitive technology by the Chinese Communist military. The Association of Universities welcomes the fact that universities will have specific guidance on this issue at a later date.
The National Commission on Security of Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) is expected to vote Monday (March 1, 2021) on a report sent to Congress that builds on a previously released final draft with new recommendations on how university research departments should prevent Chinese Communist military personnel from participating in U.S. university research programs as visiting scholars.
The committee’s recommendations include requiring universities to be more transparent about the sources of funding for their research programs and their partnerships with foreign entities, and also recommending the development of a database of relevant individuals and entities for universities to receive advance warning of risks. The purpose of this is to avoid a blanket ban on visiting scholars from a particular country at U.S. universities, a committee member said.
The Artificial Intelligence Security Council is chaired by Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, and Robert Work, former U.S. deputy secretary of defense.
Tobin Smith, vice president for science policy and global affairs at the Association of American Universities, said universities have been struggling to assess the risks and would welcome guidelines to follow.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department plans to prosecute five Chinese researchers arrested last year, including PLA scholar Tang Dao, for failing to report ties to the Communist Party’s military when they applied for visas. Tang Juan was interviewed by the FBI, then hid in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco last June and was arrested by the FBI when he left the consulate in July.
Justice Department officials said late last year that more than 1,000 Chinese scholars have left the U.S. since investigators targeted visiting Chinese scholars in several U.S. cities last summer for concealing their military status and the Chinese consulate in Houston was asked to close.
Beijing denies sending military researchers to the U.S. to steal sensitive technology and accuses the U.S. of political persecution and racial discrimination in the actions.
Recent Comments