China warns foreign powers could weaponise AI for ‘cognitive warfare’

BEIJING: China’s security chief has warned that artificial intelligence is emerging as a growing threat to national security.

He cautioned that foreign powers could exploit the technology to undermine social stability and spread disinformation.

Chinese Minister of State Security Chen Yixin said in an article that hostile forces were misusing generative AI technologies to fabricate political rumours and disseminate harmful information.

He accused foreign powers of waging what he described as a public opinion and “cognitive warfare” campaign against China, saying such activities posed direct threats to the country’s political, institutional and ideological security.

Chen said AI had become a central arena of global technological competition and a new front in the strategic rivalry between major powers.

He did not call for restrictions on the pace of AI development or specifically discuss existential risks posed by the technology. However, he warned that advanced AI systems could create serious risks for China’s critical information infrastructure.

Chen also said foreign intelligence agencies were increasingly using technologies such as intelligent web crawlers, automated data mining and intelligent profiling to collect sensitive information on a large scale, including critical national data, commercial secrets and citizens’ private information.

He said the war between the United States and Iran had also demonstrated the growing importance of AI in military operations, with technological superiority providing an advantage on the battlefield.

Chen argued that China needed to ensure independent control over key technologies to protect its technological sovereignty, including advanced computer chips essential for training AI models.

The warning comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington this month.

AI governance and the safe development and use of the technology are expected to feature among the issues under discussion, amid growing calls for stronger oversight of artificial intelligence.

Technology industry leaders in the United States have also called for measures to slow the pace of AI development amid concerns over its potential risks.