Lawmakers in the United States could be about to block Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) systems from the federal government.
The Associated Press reported that a bill introduced Wednesday in Congress would block Chinese AI systems from federal agencies. A bipartisan group of lawmakers reportedly pledged to ensure that the United States would prevail against China in the global competition over AI.
The United States and China already clash over trade and tariffs, and the US in particular under both the Biden and Trump administrations has sought to prevent China from obtaining advanced AI chips.
AI Cold War
But now a new bill is seeking to ban all Chinese AI systems from the federal government, with the bill called the “No Adversarial AI Act.”
“We are in a new Cold War, and AI is the strategic technology at the center,” Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China was quoted by AP as saying when he opened a hearing on the matter. “The future balance of power may very well be determined by who leads in AI.”
The bill announced Wednesday would ban Chinese AI systems in the federal government. Sponsors are Reps. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., and Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Gary Peters, D-Mich, AP reported.
“The US must draw a hard line: hostile AI systems have no business operating inside our government,” Moolenaar reportedly said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the committee’s top Democrat, said AI controlled by foreign adversaries “poses a direct threat to our national security, our data and our government operations.”
The bill seeks to identify AI systems developed by foreign adversaries and ban their use in the US government, with exceptions for use in research and counterterrorism
DeepSeek concern
In February a bipartisan bill in the US House of Representatives called the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act” had sought to ban Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek from federal devices.
It has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The bill cites concerns over the possibility that data collected by DeepSeek could be passed to the Chinese government, or that the app could be used to spread China-sponsored misinformation.
That same month Australia determined that DeepSeek posed “an unacceptable risk to the Australian Government’s technology estate, and has issued a mandatory direction to prevent its access, use or installation on all Australian Government devices.”
Last week a senior US official reportedly said that DeepSeek is aiding China’s military and intelligence operations, and it has sought to use Southeast Asian shell companies in order to access high-end semiconductors that cannot be shipped to China under US export regulations.
