China is reportedly developing a disturbing new AI platform capable of tracking Western scientists as Xi Jinping strives to make his country a technological superpower.
The platform, nicknamed Supermind, has already had more than £220 million in funding from the Shenzhen city government which is trying to help the government source groundbreaking technology.
This all falls under Xi’s plan for China to become the world’s leading country in the technology sector by 2049 – the 100th anniversary of the formation of the People’s Republic of China.
He has specifically vowed to make his country “a great power in science and technology”, and Supermind would be a significant step towards this.
By tracking the activities of millions of scientists and researchers across the globe, China would be able to harness breakthrough technologies critical for the advancement of the military and other industries.
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According to insiders, Supermind would utilise AI systems to curate all the leading minds in different technological and research fields, allowing China to find the best people for its own projects.
It would also help the country to determine where to send its top experts by mining top science and technology databases. It will do this by combing through 300 million research papers and 120 million patents to create a map of where all the best talents lie.
Production of this shocking tool has already begun. China’s southern technology hub Shenzhen – home to brands like Huawei – began production on the system last year.
An insider told Newsweek: “They are building a database of ‘Who’s Who’ in different areas. For example, you can ask ‘I need five particular experts in this area who are top talents.’ Then you approach them all.”
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Kevin Gamache, the Chief Research Security Officer at Texas A&M University, also warned the outlet: “It’s going to allow China to make much better decisions. It could be identifying technologies that aren’t apparent on the surface.
“They’re going to use it for to conduct targeted recruitment, or to place people in specific labs to gain access to knowledge and technology that is not yesterday’s technology but tomorrow’s, or even the next decade’s, technology.”
The platform will collect information on eight key aspects of scientific research: cells and genes, synthetic biology, blockchain computing, space technology, brain science and brain-like intelligence, deep earth and deep sea, visible optical communications and computing, and quantum physics.
Only those within the International Science and Technology Information Center (ITIC) in Shenzhen will be permitted to use Supermind.
