GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Google's AI Work in China Stirs Questions of Allegiance and National Security

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Jason Pappafotis
Board of Contributors

Nov 12, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

This Aug. 7, 2018, photo shows a Google office building in Beijing.

Google's office building in Beijing. The company's priorities have come into question after it opened an artificial intelligence research lab in China while deciding to end its AI work with the Pentagon.

(Visual China Group via Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Tech billionaire Peter Thiel sparked a debate this summer when he declared Google's artificial intelligence work in China bad for U.S. national security.
  • AI fundamentally is a military technology; at best Google is ill-informed of Beijing's intent if it thinks its work with China is benign, Thiel and others argue.
  • Thiel's argument raises important questions about national and corporate priorities as Google and other tech giants pursue their international business interests.

China is zealously protective of its national interests and is stealing as much intellectual property as possible from the United States, quickly catching up with decades of incredible innovation and investment in advanced technologies at a fraction of the time and cost. Some of these technologies, such as artificial intelligence, could be game-changers in the balance of world power. What does this ultimately mean for American tech giants like Google that are working cooperatively with Beijing while avoiding military contracts at home, and how should the United States protect its own disruptive innovation and technological advancement from exploitation by the Chinese military through replication and fusion between public and private entities?...

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