What's going on: China's prestigious Tsinghua University recently laid out a vision for how it will develop AI for military applications, flagging a close relationship between universities, private companies, and the armed forces. The details: In a speech last month, You Zheng, a Tsinghua VP, described the university's role in what China calls civil–military fusion. The speech was translated into English by Elsa Kania of the Center for a New American Security. For U.S. researchers working in China, You's explanation raises questions about whether their projects could end up aiding the Chinese effort to beat the U.S. in AI. Bob Work, the former deputy secretary of defense, remarked on the conflict at a Defense One event last month. "Google has a center in China, where they have a concept called civil–military fusion. Anything that's going on in that center is going to be used by the military."

What's going on: China's prestigious Tsinghua University recently laid out a vision for how it will develop AI for military applications, flagging a close relationship between universities, private companies, and the armed forces. The details: In a speech last month, You Zheng, a Tsinghua VP, described the university's role in what China calls civil–military fusion. The speech was translated into English by Elsa Kania of the Center for a New American Security. For U.S. researchers working in China, You's explanation raises questions about whether their projects could end up aiding the Chinese effort to beat the U.S. in AI. Bob Work, the former deputy secretary of defense, remarked on the conflict at a Defense One event last month. "Google has a center in China, where they have a concept called civil–military fusion. Anything that's going on in that center is going to be used by the military."