“Inside US Efforts to Untangle an AI Giant’s Ties to China: American Spy Agencies Have Warned about the Emirati Firm G42 and Its Work With Large Chinese Companies That US Officials Consider Security Threats”, 2023-11-27 (; backlinks):
When the secretive national security adviser of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, visited the White House in June, his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan, raised a delicate issue: G42, an artificial intelligence firm controlled by the sheikh that American officials believe is hiding the extent of its work with China.
In public, the company has announced its staggering growth with a steady cadence of news releases. They have included agreements with European pharmaceutical giants like AstraZeneca and a $100 million deal with a Silicon Valley firm Cerebras [in which Sam Altman is an investor, as well as in Rain AI] to build what the companies boast will be the “world’s largest supercomputer.” Last month, G42 announced a partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT…G42’s investments overseas include a $100 million purchase early this year of shares in ByteDance, the Chinese company that is the parent of TikTok, the popular social media app, according to a Bloomberg News report [cf. Totok].
But in classified American intelligence channels, there have been more concerning reports about the company. The C.I.A. and other American spy agencies have issued warnings about G42’s work with large Chinese companies that US officials consider security threats, including Huawei, the telecommunications giant that is under US sanctions.
U.S. officials fear G42 could be a conduit by which advanced American technology is siphoned to Chinese companies or the government. The intelligence reports have also warned that G42’s dealings with Chinese firms could be a pipeline to get the genetic data of millions of Americans and others into the hands of the Chinese government, according to two officials familiar with the reports.
…During the White House meeting in June with Sheikh Tahnoon and in other discussions of the past year, the Biden administration raised concerns about the company’s leadership and pushed for G42 to sever ties with Chinese companies and any agencies, according to a dozen people familiar with the discussions. The Americans have even pointed to the prospect of sanctions against the Emirati firm. The Biden administration’s concerns about G42 and its pressure campaign with the Emirates are being reported here for the first time…G42 is at the center of this fight.