The United States has blocked access to the Fable 5 intelligence (AI) model to non-citizens several weeks ago due to concerns that it is being used to develop foreign AI models through distillation techniques. Reuters this morning reported that China is also considering limiting access to locally made AI models by foreign users.
Chinese government representatives have met with representatives of Alibaba, ByteDance and Z.ai to see what steps can be taken. Like the United States, China sees AI models as a strategic national asset that needs to be controlled, in line with the United States' approach.
Among the steps that China may take is to limit access to the most advanced AI models. Restrictions are also being considered on foreign investment in local AI companies. In addition, the leakage or theft of AI technology may be made an offense under national security laws.
At this point, 6 of the 10 most popular AI models used by businesses are developed by Chinese companies. They were chosen because they cost less and are given away for free compared to US models that cost a high token usage fee.
The move is seen as consistent with Beijing’s approach to access to algorithms developed by local companies. After the sale of TikTok’s US business to Bytedance, for example, the algorithms were not included in the terms of the sale because they were considered state secrets.
Last month, early investors in Manus.AI reportedly wanted to buy back the company from Meta after it faced government opposition. The founder of Manus was barred from leaving the country for selling the AI company to a US entity.
