The Front Line of the AI Race Runs Through Your Company's Chat Logs

[william]

By David R. Shedd
Former Acting Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
David R. Shedd served in the U.S. government for nearly 33 years. In August 2014, he was named Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency following four years of service as Deputy Director. Until January 2015, he led the Defense Intelligence Enterprise workforce comprising more than 16,500 military and civilian employees worldwide. From May 2007 to August 2010, Shedd served as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Deputy Director for Policy, Plans and Requirements. Prior to that, Shedd served in a number of capacities in the DNI, National Security Council, CIA, and in U.S. embassies overseas. Since leaving the federal government in February 2015, Shedd has been serving as a Heritage Foundation Distinguished Fellow and an Adjunct Professor at Patrick Henry College. He works as an independent national security consultant, serves on several corporate Boards, and is actively supporting several Missions/NGOs such as Justice & Mercy International and Samaritan's Purse.

By Andrew Badger
Andrew Badger is Chief Strategy Officer at Coalition Systems. They are the co-authors of "The Great Heist: China's Epic Campaign to Steal America's Secrets."

The Front Line of the AI Race Runs Through Your Company's Chat Logs

Last week, a statement from former White House AI advisor David Sacks stopped Washington cold. "We now have a Chinese open-weight model that is as good as the currently available models from OpenAI and Anthropic," Sacks told a podcast audience, describing Z.ai's GLM-5.2 as comparable to...

www.thecipherbrief.com

 

[Publius]

I’m standing by my personal suspicion that much of the opposition to AI and data centers currently in the US is birthed in China.

Here is the all too sad reality. AI is here, it could be a boon or bust. But prohibiting it for the US and allowing others to exploit it is a net negative from the start. Yes any given American administration or government could just as easily do the same against the citizens.
Sometimes you are left with no other choice

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

I’m standing by my personal suspicion that much of the opposition to AI and data centers currently in the US is birthed in China.

Interesting theory.

 

[william]

I think the conundrum is that due to our open society it is too easy to exploit it by adversaries. The US needs to tighten up security at private and public research laboratories. BUT, not to the extent that it stifles productivity and innovation. I wonder if china would still be near peer if they hadn't stolen ours and others intellectual property.

 

[PeacePlease]

I’m standing by my personal suspicion that much of the opposition to AI and data centers currently in the US is birthed in China.

Here is the all too sad reality. AI is here, it could be a boon or bust. But prohibiting it for the US and allowing others to exploit it is a net negative from the start. Yes any given American administration or government could just as easily do the same against the citizens.
Sometimes you are left with no other choice

It's working to a degree. I agree it can't be stopped in my opinion. Yet I notice friends and family benefiting durring data center construction. Big money just to lay the pipes. It's Claude vs Deepseek right now. Artists are a east target right now for propaganda. Very vulnerable people on the internet alot.

 

[Publius]

I think the conundrum is that due to our open society it is too easy to exploit it by adversaries. The US needs to tighten up security at private and public research laboratories. BUT, not to the extent that it stifles productivity and innovation. I wonder if china would still be near peer if they hadn't stolen ours and others intellectual property.

I heard an interesting speculation, China will never see the full benefits of AI because they will seek to control to a “managed end”.
Whereas the US will be more likely to follow it to is optimum outcome.
But both are risky.

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

China will never see the full benefits of AI because they will seek to control to a “managed end”.

I am sure the elites of China have access to an uncensored version of anything they create.

 

[Publius]

I am sure the elites of China have access to an uncensored version of anything they create.

Of course they might or could have access to broader data results. However do you remember the reports from their recent real estate bubble from a couple of years ago? In the run up and initial stages. It was reported that there was significant hesitancy to deliver Xi bad news.
Of officials who were not giving the entire picture to him for fear of being spiked.

Of course the severity and pervasiveness of this was likely exaggerated in American reporting and perception.
And it is also true this same process can happen in any “open” western government as well.

But in any predominantly authoritarian gov. There always seems to be a propensity to not want to deliver bad news to leadership.
This is what I mean when I say China might limit themselves in utilizing AI and data to its best use.
In the west it can absolutely do the same thing, it will just be harder to do.

Most people seek out or filter data and information that reinforces what they believe is true or makes sense of the world as they envision it.
(including myself)

Climate change is a perfect example of this. EVERYONE, including myself, filters and grades data or expert opinion based on our already established conclusions.

A person who has concluded that mainstream reporting of scientific data can and should almost always be trusted is not going to respond openly to data that challenges these conclusion.
Conversely a person who doesn’t trust share that trust will gravitate to data that reinforces their suspicion and disregard of new data and establish “consensus”.

It’s a nasty feedback loop that very few are immune to. Often times questions or differences like this cannot even be productively discussed or debated.

It is just that currently, at least for now, in the west opposing views and interpretations can be openly challenged. It is our greatest strength and weakness.

The current conversation regarding data centers and AI in the US. Is a good example how our greatest strength can also be a our greatest weakness