China Xi Jinping tells national security team to prepare for ‘worst case scenario’ as leaders warn of AI risks
President of China Xi Jinping on Tuesday advised his national security team to prepare for the worst-case scenario as threats—both internal and external—to the nation rise.
The comments, published by state news agency Xinhua, came during a meeting of the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. National Security Commission.
FILE: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for the APEC economic leaders meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC summit, November. February 19, 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Jack Taylor / pool photo via AP)
Xi said that “the complexity and complexity of the national security issues that we are now facing has increased significantly.”
China must “adhere to bottom line and worst-case thinking and be prepared to be severely tested by strong winds and rough waves and even dangerous storm surges,” he said.
The meeting in Beijing discussed the need for “focused efforts to ensure political security and improve the security management of Internet data and artificial intelligence,” the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Xi, who is the head of China, commander of the armed forces and chairman of the party’s National Security Commission, urged at the meeting to “stay aware of the difficult and complex circumstances facing national security.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping discusses the country’s economic and social development at a political gathering in Beijing, China. (Lingtao Zhang/Getty Images)
China needs “a new development model with a new security architecture,” Xi said.
Meanwhile, party leaders were reported to have warned of the risks posed by advances in artificial intelligence calling for enhanced national security measures.
China is already devoting massive resources to quelling any perceived political threats to the party’s dominance, with spending on police and security personnel exceeding spending on the army.
CHINA ‘DEBT TRAP’ CAUSES POOR ECONOMY, THREAT TO US NATIONAL SECURITY
Beijing is cracking down on its tech sector in an attempt to regain party control, but like other countries, it is struggling to find ways to regulate rapidly advancing AI technologies.
The latest party meeting reaffirmed the need to “assess potential risks, take precautions, protect people’s interests and national security, and ensure the safety, reliability and ability to control AI,” the Beijing Youth Daily official newspaper reported on Tuesday.
A man walks past a photograph of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Museum of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing March 3, 2023, ahead of the opening of the annual session of the National People’s Congress on March 5. (GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
As early as 2018, China warned of the need to regulate AI, but funded a massive expansion in the field nonetheless as part of efforts to capture cutting-edge technology.
The lack of privacy protections and strict partisan control of the legal system have also led to the near-total use of facial, voice and even gait recognition technology to identify and detain those deemed threatening, especially political dissidents and religious minorities.
The risks of AI are mainly related to its ability to control robotics, self-guided weapons, financial instruments and computers that control power grids, medical centers, transportation networks and other key infrastructure.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
China’s unbridled enthusiasm for new technologies and its willingness to tinker with imported or stolen research, as well as suppress investigations into major events like the COVID-19 outbreak, are fueling concerns about the use of AI.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.