Chinese military researchers tap US AI models to train defence systems
The previously unreported findings offer a rare glimpse into how military and security-linked institutions in China are leveraging cutting-edge U.S. AI models as a shortcut to developing specialised systems of their own, despite Washington's efforts to restrict Beijing's access to advanced chips and other strategic technologies.
Chinese military researchers are utilizing outputs from prominent U.S. AI models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic to train domestic AI systems, aiming to enhance China's defense capabilities, according to a Reuters analysis of over 80 academic papers and patents. This phenomenon, known as model distillation, involves using powerful AI outputs to train smaller, specialized models that can be deployed locally without the heavy computing demands of creating frontier AI systems from scratch.
The practice has been widely adopted by researchers affiliated with the People's Liberation Army and other military institutions in China. The review, conducted in collaboration with the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, highlights the strategic importance of distillation in China's efforts to close the AI gap with the United States.
Despite U.S. concerns over unauthorized extraction of AI capabilities, China maintains that it is not infringing on intellectual property rights and accuses the U.S. of pursuing AI hegemony.
Written by urgent.news from Economic Times Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
