Does Beijing need AI talent in ‘public opinion war’ over South China Sea?

A prominent South China Sea analyst has called for Chinese research institutions to enlist AI specialists as part of a "public opinion war" over the contested waters. Wu Shicun, founder of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, highlighted the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to counter the evolving complexities of the region.

He warned that relying solely on military might would be insufficient if opposing narratives took root. To counter such framing, Wu urged think tanks to adopt technical expertise and engineering capabilities, moving away from traditional scholarly debates. This sentiment echoed throughout a forum in Shenzhen, where Chinese think tanks discussed the integration of AI to monitor global public opinion and bolster China's messaging abroad.

The discussions came amidst heightened tensions over AI technology between China and the United States, with accusations of Chinese companies mirroring American models "on an industrial scale". The forum also cautioned that Western dominance in AI training posed a threat to China's "knowledge sovereignty". Wu Zhiliang, deputy director of a key policy advisory body, emphasized the need for China's modernization to translate into "internationally influential ideas, resources or computable, structured knowledge data sets".

He argued that think tanks needed a complete overhaul, not just an upgrade of tools and methods. Experts at the forum suggested think tanks should develop their own AI models, customized to their specific operational needs, to ensure data accuracy and address security and privacy concerns. The event was held just days after US firm Anthropic accused its Chinese counterparts of accessing sensitive customer data through their AI systems, further escalating the AI rivalry between the two nations.