Sen. Barrasso raises concerns over DOE’s ability to protect AI R&D from China

With artificial intelligence (AI) the increasing focus of interest for Washington and private companies, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) this week wrote to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm with doubts about her department’s ability to protect research from Chinese interests.

“In the face of mounting threats posed by the CCP’s pursuit of technological dominance in AI, DOE’s active engagement with CCP-affiliated individuals and organizations is recklessly foolish. This engagement must cease immediately,” Barrasso wrote.

Barrasso is the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee. In this capacity, he highlighted past attempts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to target AI research and development efforts, and called for the DOE to take appropriate action. Such actions include remediating counterintelligence shortcomings, ceasing to share R&D with official members of the CCP and those linked to it, and fully funding the DOE Office of the Inspector General.

Without such actions, he said, DOE may lack broad congressional support for its expanded role in AI leadership.

“I remain particularly troubled by the abrupt reassignment of DOE’s Director of Intelligence and Counterintelligence,” Barrasso said. “Likewise, I continue to be troubled by a classified report by an outside contractor highlighting systemic counterintelligence flaws within DOE.”

He also pointed to the case of Chinese national and former Google employee Linwei Ding, indicted in March for the alleged theft of more than 500 confidential files related to Google’s own AI efforts, as proof of danger posed by the CCP. The DOE has nevertheless continued to engage in scientific collaboration with China – something Barrasso criticized.

“DOE must implement a robust vetting process for those wishing to access and work with DOE-created AI foundation models,” Barrasso wrote. “It is crucial that those friendly to the CCP do not gain access.”

The call for additional funding to the Office of the Inspector General piggybacked on this, pitched as a means to ensure proper oversight and mitigate CCP theft of pioneering AI R&D.

Barrasso requested a response by April 1, 2024.