The White House has said it will work more closely with US artificial intelligence (AI) firms to combat industrial-scale campaigns by foreign actors to steal advances in technology. Michael Kratsios, Director of Science and Technology Policy, wrote in an internal memo that the administration had new information indicating foreign entities, principally based in China were exploiting American firms. Through a process called distilling, such firms are essentially copying AI technology developed by US companies, he said.
A representative of China's US embassy in Washington DC said its development was the result of its own dedication and effort as well as international cooperation. In the memo, Kratsios said the aim was to systematically undermine American research and development and access proprietary information.
To avoid and halt malicious exploitation, Kratsios noted that the White House will undertake several actions, including sharing more information with US AI companies about tactics used in distillation campaigns, working to better coordinate efforts with those companies, developing best practices to identify and mitigate these issues, and exploring how to hold foreign actors accountable.
The memo did not detail any specific plans for actions against foreign entities found to be undertaking distillation of US AI technology. A White House spokesperson declined to comment beyond the memo.
In response to the memo, a spokesperson from China's US embassy criticized the action as an unjustified suppression of Chinese companies. They proclaimed, China is not only the world's factory but is also becoming the world's innovation lab, adding that China's advancements are the results of their own efforts complemented by international cooperation.
Distillation campaigns are carried out by firms operating numerous user accounts for various AI tools, allowing them to impersonate regular users. These accounts make coordinated attempts to expose confidential information about AI models, which is subsequently used to train their own AI models. As methods to detect and mitigate industrial-scale distillation grow more sophisticated, foreign entities who build their AI capabilities on such fragile foundations should have little confidence in the integrity and reliability of the models they produce, Kratsios stated.
Leading AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have acknowledged such distillation activity, indicating that the issue is pervasive in the industry. While specific foreign entities were not mentioned, Anthropic has reported attacks from labs such as DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax, all based in China, working to replicate its AI models. OpenAI has similarly accused DeepSeek of copying its technologies.
As AI development continues to grow, concerns regarding intellectual property theft and technological espionage remain a critical focus for both the US government and domestic tech firms.
A representative of China's US embassy in Washington DC said its development was the result of its own dedication and effort as well as international cooperation. In the memo, Kratsios said the aim was to systematically undermine American research and development and access proprietary information.
To avoid and halt malicious exploitation, Kratsios noted that the White House will undertake several actions, including sharing more information with US AI companies about tactics used in distillation campaigns, working to better coordinate efforts with those companies, developing best practices to identify and mitigate these issues, and exploring how to hold foreign actors accountable.
The memo did not detail any specific plans for actions against foreign entities found to be undertaking distillation of US AI technology. A White House spokesperson declined to comment beyond the memo.
In response to the memo, a spokesperson from China's US embassy criticized the action as an unjustified suppression of Chinese companies. They proclaimed, China is not only the world's factory but is also becoming the world's innovation lab, adding that China's advancements are the results of their own efforts complemented by international cooperation.
Distillation campaigns are carried out by firms operating numerous user accounts for various AI tools, allowing them to impersonate regular users. These accounts make coordinated attempts to expose confidential information about AI models, which is subsequently used to train their own AI models. As methods to detect and mitigate industrial-scale distillation grow more sophisticated, foreign entities who build their AI capabilities on such fragile foundations should have little confidence in the integrity and reliability of the models they produce, Kratsios stated.
Leading AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have acknowledged such distillation activity, indicating that the issue is pervasive in the industry. While specific foreign entities were not mentioned, Anthropic has reported attacks from labs such as DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax, all based in China, working to replicate its AI models. OpenAI has similarly accused DeepSeek of copying its technologies.
As AI development continues to grow, concerns regarding intellectual property theft and technological espionage remain a critical focus for both the US government and domestic tech firms.
