Congressman John Moolenaar Chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP | Official Website
Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party have called for an expansion of the U.S. AI Safety Institute's (AISI) role. They urge this step to address national security threats posed by China's advancements in artificial intelligence.
In a letter addressed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, they stated, "there is a strong national security need for better understanding, predicting, and preparing for the PRC’s AI progress." This follows concerns raised by DeepSeek's launch of its large language model, R1, which has been identified as a potential risk due to issues like data funneling and technology theft.
The lawmakers emphasized that as AI systems advance, it becomes increasingly crucial to anticipate developments from China in order to avoid strategic surprises. "The need to predict and prepare for PRC AI developments—and to avoid strategic surprise—will only grow more urgent," noted Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi.
They suggested AISI expand its mission with a specific focus on Chinese AI development, advocating for a comprehensive government approach to maintain U.S. leadership in advanced AI technologies. The Institute's technical expertise and industry partnerships were highlighted as vital resources in this effort.
Specific contributions from AISI could include assessing vulnerabilities in Chinese AI models, benchmarking them against U.S. models, supporting efforts against technology theft, and strategizing responses to competitive developments.
The letter concluded with anticipation of further engagement with AISI: "We look forward to engaging with the AI Safety Institute to better understand its ongoing work and resourcing needs on these topics."
