The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in collaboration with the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is currently probing into grants received by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The scientist is alleged to have affiliations with the CCP. The committees have sent letters regarding this matter to UCLA Chancellor Gener Block, National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Lloyd Austin.
According to a Newsweek investigation, Song-Chun Zhu, the former director of the AI center at UCLA and a member of the CCP, secured a minimum of $30 million in federal research grants from the U.S. government. Most of these grants were awarded before 2020, with some extending beyond 2021. Funding sources included The National Science Foundation, the specialized military research agency DARPA, as well as the Navy and the Army among others. It is alleged that Zhu established a parallel institute near Wuhan and assumed a position at a Beijing university primarily focused on supporting Chinese military research.
"Mr. Zhu has openly discussed how if China takes the lead in developing a 'truly universal intelligence,' then it will 'become the winner of the international technology competition'," said the committees in their letter according to a press release from the Select Committee on the CCP. "He has also referred to the AI race as being equivalent in military importance to the race for atomic bomb. In a period of intensifying geopolitical competition with CCP, ceasing federal government support for Chinese AI development is a critical national security imperative."
The race for dominance in artificial intelligence has been ongoing for years. According to Visual Capitalist, since 2013, The United States has maintained its leading position in this race with China closely following in second place and United Kingdom securing third spot. In just last year alone, the United States invested in over 500 AI startups, amassing nearly $50 billion in non-government funding.
"Mr. Zhu’s case is not an isolated occurrence in the field of scientific research," said the committees according to a press release from the Select Committee on the CCP. "Infiltration by members of CCP-backed talent recruitment plans into sensitive research areas has been and continues to be distressingly common. Preventing foreign adversaries from receiving highly sensitive U.S. research—funded by federal government grants—will only be effective if, as stated in the HSGAC report, universities 'take responsibility in addressing this threat'."
The Select Committee on the CCP, chaired by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), was established to counteract the influence of the Chinese Communist Party. This bipartisan committee is committed to "working on a bipartisan basis to build consensus on the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party and develop a plan of action to defend the American people, our economy, and our values". Its members include representatives such as Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Jake Auchincloss (Mass.) among others.
