Washington DC [US], May 28 (ANI): Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have called on the Department of Commerce to expand the mandate of the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) to directly address the escalating national security risks posed by China’s advancements in artificial intelligence.
In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the lawmakers emphasized the urgent national security need to better understand, predict, and prepare for China’s AI progress, as highlighted in a statement by the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (SCCCP).
The letter pointed to the January 2025 launch of DeepSeek’s large language model, R1, as a significant warning sign. Investigations by the Committee revealed multiple security concerns including the funneling of Americans’ private data to China, manipulation of the model’s outputs under Chinese law, and the potential theft of US AI technology via model distillation, according to the SCCCP release.
As AI technology advances, the lawmakers warned that the necessity to anticipate and prepare for China’s AI developments will become increasingly critical. Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi urged the AISI to broaden its focus specifically to Chinese AI, noting that a whole-of-government approach is essential to maintain US leadership in cutting-edge AI development.
They underscored AISI’s unique technical expertise, strong industry partnerships, and experience in testing and evaluation as vital tools in the US effort to outpace the CCP’s AI ambitions.
The lawmakers identified key areas where AISI could strengthen US national security, such as evaluating the capabilities and vulnerabilities of the most advanced Chinese AI models and benchmarking these models against US counterparts to better assess the competitive landscape.
Additionally, the letter urged AISI to support industry initiatives aimed at preventing Chinese theft of AI technology and to develop strategies for responding to evolving US-China AI rivalry scenarios.
Concluding the letter, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi expressed eagerness to engage with the AI Safety Institute to gain a deeper understanding of its current work and resource needs in addressing these critical challenges.
(ANI)
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