USA Accuses Chinese AI firms theft of AI technology - Economist

Chinese AI firms committing "industrial-scale" theft of American counterparts

USA Accuses Chinese AI firms of theft of AI technology

U.S. cyber and law enforcement officials on Tuesday accused Chinese AI companies of "aggressive, industrial-scale distillation activities," according to a statement from three U.S. security agencies. 

Distillation is the process of training smaller AI models using output from larger, more expensive ones as part of an effort to lower the costs of training a new AI tool.

China put “World” in the name of its new artificial intelligence organization. It left out the United States. On July 16, 29 countries signed an agreement in Shanghai establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, with its headquarters in China.

Less than seven weeks later, President Donald Trump’s administration supplied the beginnings of an answer. On Sept. 2, innovation ministers from the Group of 20 — including representatives from China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Britain, and other major economies — issued a consensus statement on emerging technologies. They agreed on pro-innovation policy, workforce development, intellectual property, standards, and investment in the industrial supply chains that make AI possible.