Experts Warn of China’s AI Strategy Threatening U.S. Supremacy

Recent developments in artificial intelligence have raised concerns about China’s increasing influence in this crucial field. As U.S. citizens anticipate potential threats from advanced AI technologies, specialists caution that China is already undermining America’s global dominance using AI.

Experts shared insights into China’s strategic approach to AI with Fox News Digital. This approach involves acquiring the logic behind American AI models, offering free open-source software to overshadow U.S. developers, and eventually utilizing these systems for cognitive warfare. China has been able to bypass significant U.S. research investments by closely studying and replicating American AI capabilities while distributing free alternatives globally.

“I think a ‘race’ is the wrong metaphor for this,” Leah Siskind, an AI research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. “I think it’s kind of like a multi-front war. And in some places, we’re winning, and some places we’re losing.”

While American technology firms invest extensively in proprietary systems, China has concentrated on disseminating free, open-source models. Siskind highlights that due to the high cost of American tech, many large companies are opting for Chinese alternatives, inadvertently exposing themselves to potential CCP censorship and manipulation.

“How can you compete with something that’s free when American tech is very expensive?” Siskind said. “How can we ensure that a Chinese open-source model would be truly clean? We wouldn’t know what sort of trick backdoors might be implanted.”

Gordon Chang, a prominent China analyst, warns that China is using strategies previously applied to dominate other industries, similar to its approach with solar panels. The tactic involves using cost-effective models to drive out American competitors.

“Beijing sees that one day it will drive out the American models on cost and availability, and they will then dominate global AI,” Chang stated.

The U.S. maintains a significant lead in physical infrastructure, with thousands of data centers and advanced microchips. However, China is closing the gap through a practice called “knowledge distillation,” where smaller models analyze larger American models to mimic their functions. Leah Siskind highlights DeepSeek as an example where China demonstrated competitiveness with advanced U.S models using fewer resources.

The Department of Homeland Security recently issued a cybersecurity advisory, warning about China’s involvement in large-scale knowledge distillation to extract capabilities from American AI models.

Beyond the economic implications, experts caution about Beijing’s use of AI in physical supply chains and influence campaigns. Instead of using science fiction scenarios involving killer robots, the immediate focus is on “embodied AI,” implementing AI in factory automation, drones, and supply chains.

“They’re very good at cognitive warfare, and they can enhance their capabilities with artificial intelligence,” Chang noted. “We do not want our elections determined in China.”

As President Xi Jinping visits the U.S., experts suggest that the White House should address non-traditional threats from China with urgency. Leah Siskind stresses the importance of incentivizing U.S. open-source development and ensuring advanced systems align with democratic values.

“It is very important that the most advanced systems are developed under democracy and represent democratic values,” Siskind emphasized.

China-linked hackers have reportedly infiltrated U.S government networks, highlighting the stakes of defending technological assets.

“Xi Jinping throughout this century has been pushing the notion of Tianxia, or ‘all under heaven’ that China’s rulers have a right to rule the world,” Chang warned.

President Donald Trump recently reaffirmed America’s commitment to surpassing China in AI advancements during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, stating that American documents will now refer to AI as “superintelligence.”