Generative AI is an answer to the prayers of Chinese propagandists

New Delhi, Nov 25: Generative AI is a dream come true for Chinese propagandists, and this technology will likely be quickly adopted, and push into hyperdrive China's efforts to shape the global conversation, wrote Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, policy researcher at Rand Corporation.

Chinese Party–state actors are already embracing using generative AI to create and spread disinformation, and have long been using earlier forms of AI for this same purpose. In September, Microsoft reported that China-affiliated actors began experimenting with text-to-image models in, at the latest, March 2023, and that one of the images produced and circulated was a distorted image of the Statue of Liberty. The Microsoft report came after reports throughout the last several years that China has been using AI-generated avatars to spread propaganda, the article said.

China's plan to use AI for disinformation is obvious. Li Bicheng, a Chinese military-affiliated researcher, has been designing a system for “online public opinion guidance” and employing “online information deception” since at least 2016. In 2019, he proposed using AI to make his disinformation system more authentically human-seeming in several ways, such as by creating a network of “intelligent agents,” or AI-run, fake accounts that could push pro-CCP messages on social media. As recently as January this year, Li was working on research, directly funded by the Chinese military, to create more “authentic” text with AI, text that will better reflect natural human language, the article said.

In the swiftly evolving technological landscape, the strategic deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a pivotal element in global power dynamics, Concentric Advisors said in a report.

On October 26, the U.S. restricted the export of specific high-end AI chips, chip-making equipment, and design software to China, Iran and Russia.

A US executive order signed early this year, supported by countries such as the Netherlands and Japan, imposes limits on US investments in some Chinese semiconductor, quantum computing, and AI firms.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has marshalled private companies and trillions of dollars in public money to drive research and development in AI to overtake the West in AI R&D by 2025, Concentric Advisors said.

China aims to augment its computational capacity by 50% before 2025, a crucial step to bolster AI advancements that depend on sophisticated semiconductors for processing extensive volumes of data.

State-owned Chinese telecommunications companies, such as Huawei, have been awarded contracts worth an estimated $1.4 trillion to develop AI software to underpin automated factories and mass surveillance.

China now has at least 130 large language models (LLMs), accounting for 40 percent of the global total and just behind America’s 50 percent share, Concentric Advisors said.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s 2023 annual report to Congress on the state of China’s military highlights the rising role of AI in Beijing’s military strategy and possible threats to the US.

The report warns China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) introduced Multi-Domain Precision Warfare, which aims to use AI and big data advances to quickly identify and exploit vulnerabilities in the US operational system. On a concerning note, China “largely denied, cancelled and ignored bilateral defense engagements” with the US.

China has tested AI to operate autonomous vehicles of war, such as subs, fighter jets, and swarms of aerial drones. Kathleen Hicks, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, stated that America will field “multiple thousands” of autonomous, unmanned systems to offset China’s advantage in numbers of weapons and people, Concentric Advisors reported.

China has become a major player in AI, from commercial use to military grade systems, the country has solidified its status as a world leader, ITV News reported.

The pace of Artificial Intelligence (AI) development is so fast here, that it could be in China where we find out whether machines will take over from man.

The Chinese Communist Party has set the target of being the world number one in AI by 2030.

It is pouring billions into research and development and there are thousands of companies working towards the aim of global dominance in the field.

The three pillars of AI are computer power, algorithms and data. It is the third pillar in which China could have the key to its success, ITV News said.

With more smartphone users than anywhere else in the world and a sophisticated system of mass surveillance, the country’s technology industry has access to an almost unlimited supply of data.

One Chinese industry expert said advances in military use are inevitable, and we are already seeing how drones have altered modern warfare in Ukraine and the Middle East.

At a recent AI Expo in Beijing there were examples of robot dogs with machine guns mounted on them that can enter into hostile environments and kill a target, ITV News reported.