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The Future of AI-Based Security

The competition between the U.S. and China in artificial intelligence (AI) is critical, as it determines not only leadership in technology but also global governance standards. China is advancing a model of digital authoritarianism, utilizing AI for surveillance and repression, particularly against ethnic Uighurs, while democracies must counter this by promoting ethical AI use aligned with human rights. To effectively combat these threats, democratic nations need to collaborate on international AI standards and leverage their collective advantages to establish a responsible tech system.

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The Future of AI-Based Security

The competition between the U.S. and China in artificial intelligence (AI) is critical, as it determines not only leadership in technology but also global governance standards. China is advancing a model of digital authoritarianism, utilizing AI for surveillance and repression, particularly against ethnic Uighurs, while democracies must counter this by promoting ethical AI use aligned with human rights. To effectively combat these threats, democratic nations need to collaborate on international AI standards and leverage their collective advantages to establish a responsible tech system.

Uploaded by

nonoetwilliam
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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How to counter China’s scary use of AI tech

Adapted from The Los Angeles Times – Feb. 23 rd , 2023

Nowhere is the competition in developing artificial intelligence fiercer than in the accelerating rivalry
between the United States and China. At stake in this competition is not just who leads in AI but who
sets the rules for how it is used around the world.
China is forging a new model of digital authoritarianism at home and is actively exporting it abroad. It
has launched a national-level AI development plan with the intent to be the global leader by 2030.
The United States and other democracies must counter this rising tide of techno-authoritarianism by
presenting an alternative vision for how AI should be used that is consistent with democratic values.
But China’s authoritarian government has an advantage. It can move faster than democratic
governments in establishing rules for AI governance, since it can simply dictate which uses are
allowed or banned.
One risk is that China’s model for AI use will be adopted in other countries while democracies are still
developing an approach more protective of human rights.
The Chinese Communist Party, for example, is integrating AI into surveillance cameras, security
checkpoints and police cloud computing centers.
The government is pouring billions of dollars into surveillance networks and a “social credit system.”
China is building a panopticon, with more than 500 million surveillance cameras deployed nationwide
by 2021.
While facial recognition is being widely deployed in China, a grassroots backlash in the U.S. has
slowed deployment. Several U.S. cities and states have banned facial recognition for use by law
enforcement. These national differences are likely to give Chinese firms a major edge in development
of facial-recognition technology.
China’s use of AI in human rights abuses is evident in the repression and persecution of ethnic Uighurs
in Xinjiang, through tools such as face, voice and gait recognition. The techno-authoritarianism China
is pioneering in Xinjiang is being replicated not only across China but around the world. Chinese
surveillance and policing technology are now in use in at least 80 countries.
The problem is not just that AI is being used for human rights abuses but that it can supercharge
repression itself, arming the state with vast intelligent surveillance networks to monitor and control the
population at a scale and degree of precision that would be impossible with human agents.
In the face of these AI threats, democratic governments and societies need to work to establish global
norms for lawful, appropriate and ethical uses of technologies like facial recognition.
The U.S. government needs to be more proactive, working with companies to ensure that international
AI and data standards protect human rights and individual liberty. International standard-setting is one
of the essential battlegrounds for global tech governance.
In the contest over how AI will be used, democratic nations have many advantages over authoritarian
regimes; namely, greater talent, military power and control over critical technologies. Yet these
advantages are fragmented among various countries and actors. But the diversity of voices is a great
strength in controlling the uses of AI and building a responsible tech system.
AI can be used to bolster individual freedom or crush it. Russian President Vladimir Putin has
said about AI: “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world.” The
race to lead in AI and write the rules of the next century is underway, and with it, the future of global
security.

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