China Is Stealing AI Secrets to Turbocharge Spying, U.S. Says
wsj.comDec 25, 2023
Microsoft Says Russia, China Use OpenAI for Hacking
The Facts
OpenAI and Microsoft have reported that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are using OpenAI's artificial intelligence (AI) products to conduct unsophisticated but efficient hacking activities like writing emails, translating documents, and debugging computer code.
They claim the Chinese groups Charcoal Typhoon and Salmon Typhoon used it for cybersecurity and phishing, the Russian-connected group Forest Blizzard to research "satellite radar technologies," and North Korea-linked Emerald Street "likely" used it for "spear-phishing campaigns."
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Instead of developing its own technology for the betterment of humanity, Beijing has decided to steal US technology and use it to hack the personal data of government and business personnel. Companies like OpenAI have been worried about this for a while now, especially following PRC attempts to buy up stock in chip-making firms and then steal their technology. The worst part is that China has already collected vast amounts of data — information it can now sort through via the powerful capabilities of AI. This undermines a rules-based order.
Establishment-critical narrative
The US and its Western Five Eyes surveillance allies repeatedly make these accusations to cover up the fact that they are the world's leading spies and hackers. Each time a whistleblower exposes another illegal spying activity by the US, Washington subsequently deflects the news by throwing baseless conspiracies around about Bejing. Not only does the US hack foreign governments, but also its own citizens. US intelligence agencies are the real threats to privacy and security.
Nerd narrative
There is a 48% chance that the US will restrict Chinese AI developers' access to US cloud computing before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.