control but mechanisms for projecting influence globally. Additionally, China’ s industrial policies— such as its subsidies for AI-related technologies— give its companies an edge in global markets, creating dependencies that can be leveraged in times of geopolitical conflict.
A striking example of this is China’ s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure strategy that incorporates AI systems into the digital“ Silk Road” to expand Beijing’ s political and economic influence. Many countries participating in the initiative are adopting Chinese-built AI systems for smart cities and government operations. These systems come with long-term dependencies, meaning that countries relying on them require ongoing support, updates, and integration, enabling Beijing to exert political and economic influence on a global scale.
This strategy underscores the lengths to which adversaries will go to secure strategic advantages, a trend further exemplified by recent incidents targeting U. S. AI infrastructure.
From espionage campaigns aimed at proprietary algorithms to supply chain infiltration involving hardware components, the threats are both sophisticated and pervasive. For instance, reports of Chinese-manufactured hardware components with embedded vulnerabilities have raised alarms about potential backdoors in critical systems. These risks are not theoretical; they are a daily reality in the hyperconnected global economy.
The implications extend beyond the theft of intellectual property. Consider the potential consequences of adversarial manipulation. An AI system corrupted at the training stage could subtly distort outcomes in ways that remain undetected until critical decisions— financial, operational, or even life-and-death— are impacted. This is not hypothetical; adversarial attacks on machine learning systems are welldocumented and are evolving rapidly.
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