By Alexandra Alper and Christopher Bing
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican lawmakers requested the Biden administration for an intelligence evaluation of Microsoft (NASDAQ:)’s $1.5 billion funding in UAE-based synthetic intelligence agency G42 over issues about switch of delicate know-how and G42’s historic ties to China.
Consultant Michael McCaul, chair of the Home International Affairs Committee, and John Moolenaar, chief of the Choose Committee on China, made the request for a briefing in a letter dated Wednesday to White Home nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan, the committees mentioned.
The Republicans mentioned they need the briefing on the deal, introduced in April, earlier than it advances to a second part involving the switch of export-restricted semiconductor chips and mannequin weights, refined knowledge that improves an AI mannequin’s skill to emulate human reasoning.
The letter is an indication of rising concern concerning the lack of laws across the export of delicate AI fashions, as fears mount that firms like G42 may share the prized know-how with U.S. adversaries like China.
“We remain deeply concerned by attempts to move quickly to advance a partnership that involves the unprecedented transfer of highly sensitive, U.S.-origin technology, without congressional consultation or clearly defined regulations in place,” the lawmakers mentioned within the letter.
They requested for a U.S. evaluation of G42’s ties to China’s Communist Social gathering, army and authorities earlier than the Microsoft deal advances. They cited a latest go to by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Beijing to debate, in accordance with Chinese language state information company Xinhua, cooperation in AI.
Microsoft mentioned in an announcement it was working carefully with the U.S. authorities and “U.S. national security will continue to be a principal priority.” Spokespeople for G42, the White Home, and the United Arab Emirates embassy didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The Chinese language Embassy mentioned, “The U.S. has repeatedly undermined cooperation between Chinese companies and other countries on trumped-up security grounds.”
CONCERNS ABOUT CHINA
A Home Choose Committee aide instructed reporters on a telephone name on Thursday that primarily based on conversations with Microsoft, the lawmakers anticipate the U.S. firm to export “otherwise severely restricted AI semiconductor chips to train models as well as AI model weights.”
Microsoft President Brad Smith instructed Reuters in Might that the take care of G42 might ultimately contain the switch of refined chips and instruments.
The Republicans’ letter additionally cited G42’s previous “digital surveillance” work as an space of potential danger. The aide highlighted prior connections between G42 workers and Emirati cybersecurity agency DarkMatter, which was the topic of a 2019 Reuters investigation on its cyber espionage actions.
The U.S. has had deepening issues about China’s affect within the Center East and the United Arab Emirates, a longstanding U.S. ally.
However G42 mentioned in February it divested its investments in China and was accepting constraints imposed on it by the USA to work with U.S. firms. G42 beforehand had investments or partnerships in China with TikTok proprietor ByteDance, vaccine developer Sinopharm and U.S.-blacklisted biotech agency BGO Genomics.
The New York Instances reported in April that the Microsoft take care of G42 was largely orchestrated by the Biden administration to field out China. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo instructed the paper that the Microsoft deal didn’t authorize the switch to G42 of AI fashions or processors to develop AI functions.
Together with Microsoft, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, the nation’s ruling household and U.S. personal fairness agency Silver Lake maintain stakes in G42, whose chairman, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the UAE nationwide safety adviser and a brother to the president.
Reuters reported in Might that the Commerce Division was contemplating guidelines to limit the export of proprietary or closed-source AI. At the moment, nothing is stopping U.S. AI giants from promoting them to virtually anybody on this planet with out authorities oversight.
