Microsoft’s AI research with Chinese military university fuels concerns
- US firm’s researchers have co-authored at least three papers with academics affiliated with the National University of Defence Technology in past year
- Work covers topics such as face analysis and machine reading amid worries over China-US academic partnerships and Beijing’s hi-tech surveillance drive
Microsoft has been collaborating with researchers linked to a Chinese military-backed university on artificial intelligence, elevating concerns that US firms are contributing to China’s hi-tech surveillance and censorship apparatus.
Over the past year, researchers at Microsoft Research Asia in Beijing have co-authored at least three papers with scholars affiliated with China’s National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), which is overseen by the Central Military Commission.
The research covers a number of AI topics, such as face analysis and machine reading, which enables computers to parse and understand online text.
“The new methods and technologies described in their joint papers could very well be contributing to China’s crackdown on minorities in Xinjiang, for which they are using facial recognition technology,” said Helena Legarda, a research associate at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, who focuses on China’s foreign and security policies.
“Many of these advanced technologies are dual-use, so they could also contribute to the PLA’s [People’s Liberation Army’s] modernisation and informatisation drive, helping the Chinese military move closer to the 2049 goal of being a world-class military,” she added.