via zerohedge.com
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the House select committee on China, has called for the United States to immediately cease funding companies in China that are developing artificial intelligence (AI), the technology bringing about worldwide transformation and disruption.
Gallagher, a U.S. Marine combat veteran, who has been out front in publicizing and pushing legislation to nullify the threat China and its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pose to America, is asking for this financial pipeline to be shut down as some of the biggest and most powerful American venture capital (VC) firms, either directly or indirectly, are making significant investments in Chinese AI enterprises.
The representative also makes this request as global business and thought leaders—among them technology moguls Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp—have publicly called for a pause on AI development because of the risks and dangers it poses if not checked and not controlled.
“In recent months, we have seen revolutionary advances in artificial intelligence in America, but we are still neck and neck with the Chinese Communist Party when it comes to this critical technology, which could determine geopolitical dominance in the 21st century,” said Gallagher in a statement he sent to The Epoch Times.
“While serious questions remain about the right guardrails to put in place around AI in America, we know that the CCP will use this technology to further repress their own citizens and export their model of techno-totalitarian control around the world. The most obvious next step is to immediately cut off the flow of American capital to Chinese AI companies.”
Prominent American-based VC firms with global reach and that are funding companies in the Chinese AI sector include Tiger Global Management, Silver Lake, and IDG Capital. Sequoia Capital China, an affiliate of Sequoia Capital headquartered in Silicon Valley, backs Chinese AI companies. Money originating in America helps fund the Chinese VCs, Qiming Venture Partner and Matrix Partners China, that hold stakes in the China AI industry.
Referring to Sequoia Capital, Gallagher said: “Surely Sequoia can find other ways to make money than financing freedom’s end.”