US intelligence warns American firms to protect 5 key technologies from China

Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, bioscience, semiconductors, and autonomous systems are five critical tech areas, says US intelligence

American firms and researchers need to pay more attention to protect research against threats from nation-states acquiring American know-how, officials add

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A robotic shark is seen at a cloud computing and artificial intelligence conference, in Hangzhou, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province on October 19. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:01am, 23 Oct 2021Updated: 11:58pm, 23 Oct 2021

US intelligence officials issued a warning to American technology firms against working with China in five crucial areas.

Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, bioscience, semiconductors, and autonomous systems are sectors “where the stakes are potentially greatest for US economic and national security”, the National Counterintelligence and Security Centre (NCSC) said in a new paper.

American companies, academics and research communities need to pay more attention to protect talent and research against threats from nation-states that have been using legal and illegal means to acquire American know-how to dominate these technologies, according to the NCSC, a centre within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The officials stressed they were not advocating for a complete decoupling from Chinese companies and research facilities, but said there is a need to understand that the Chinese government has comprehensive national plan to dominate in these fields.

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Intelligence officials said they feared that the US would be entirely pushed out of these sectors crucial to the future.