In November 2019, the US government’s National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), an influential body chaired by former Google CEO and executive chairman Eric Schmidt, has warned that China is using artificial intelligence to “promote an authoritarian agenda.”
Just two months earlier, Schmidt was also exploring potential personal connections with China’s AI industry during a visit to Beijing, new emails reveal. Additionally, tax records show that a private nonprofit foundation overseen by Schmidt and his wife contributed to a fund that funds a private equity firm that has invested in multiple Chinese technology companies, including companies in the AI field.
When NSCAI gave his full findings in 2021, Schmidt and NSCAI vice president said in a statement that “China’s plans, resources and progress should concern all Americans” and warned that “China’s domestic use of AI is a frightening precedent for anyone in the world The world values personal freedom.”
The 2019 email communications, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Technology Transparency Project (TTP)a nonprofit research initiative that tracks the influence of the technology industry, to staff at Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic venture, asking NSCAI staff to help identify “possible commitments [Schmidt] possible on AI, as individuals.” The names were redacted, but an NSCAI employee responded: “Sure, happy to help.” One person was tasked with coming up with “interesting companies in Beijing.”
It is unclear what meetings, if any, took place in China as a result of the discussions, or whether such meetings could turn into business transactions. However, the messages add further detail to the seemingly complex relationship between Schmidt and America’s main geopolitical rival. They also reflect the paradox of competition and interdependence that characterizes the dynamic between the world’s two most powerful nations.
Flight record Previously obtained TTP showed that a Gulfstream flew from Google’s home hanger in November 2019. A day later, the press reported that Schmidt, who was in China attending the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, dinner with Kai-Fu Lee, former head of Google China and a famous Chinese businessman and investor. The couple told a Bloomberg reporter at the time that they were “just catching up.”
2019 tax declaration documents shows that the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Strategic Innovation Fund, a nonprofit overseen by the billionaire and his wife, invested nearly $17 million in a fund that funded an investment firm then called Hillhouse Capital, a company that invests in some famous Chinese technologies. and AI companies, among other businesses. In October 2016, Hillhouse according to the report launched an AI investment fund with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a state-owned institution. In 2017, Hillhouse led a $55 million funding round in Chinese AI company Yitu, a startup that would soon be constantly in the news. blacklisted by the US government for allegedly providing Facial recognition technology is used for surveillance in China.
The NSCAI final report includes a section on promoting “International Digital Democracy” initiatives. It provides a number of recommendations on how to “develop, promote and fund” digital ecosystems, including partnerships with the private sector — citing Hillhouse as a positive example.
