Technology (Page 66)

China is developing an AI-based intelligence platform called “Supermind” to track millions of scientists and researchers worldwide, aiming to hoover up breakthrough technologies for industry and the military.

The state-funded platform uses sophisticated AI systems to help find talent for China and is under construction in a new “information and intelligence” center in Shenzhen, home to big tech firms like Huawei, ZTE and Tencent, Newsweek reported.

The project, fueled by a US$280 million investment mainly by the Shenzhen government, represents a significant AI-empowered step in China’s bid to win a global technology competition with the US.

The Supermind will offer users 300 million global science and technology research papers and 120 million patents, and have the ability to locate 130 million international scholars or “human talents” to scrutinize their work. The system will be constantly updated and include Hong Kong and Macau in its networks.

Newsweek reports that Supermind is associated with multiple security intelligence organizations in China, including the Key Laboratory of New Technologies of Security Intelligence in Guangdong Province.

It also says the platform is networked with dedicated state data security organizations, such as the AI developer Pengcheng Laboratory, the China National Gene Bank, and BGI, a genomics company.

The report also points out that the Chinese database’s use of “intelligence” should be understood as seeking “information of use to the state” between classified intelligence and open source.

Such technology could identify and recruit skilled personnel in sensitive military fields, focusing on Chinese scientists working for US institutions.

At the same time, the US is also developing its own version of China’s Supermind technology. It’s not immediately clear which side first initiated the concept.

In January 2023, the US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) called upon industry and academia to suggest commercial open-source intelligence (OSINT) systems that can assist the US Department of Defense (DOD) in gathering and analyzing information on the science and technology advancements of foreign state competitors and adversaries.

The DOD is reportedly seeking US-developed OSINT prototypes with data science tools and machine learning to gather information on the technological initiatives of potential adversaries.

These prototypes should collect insights from publicly available and commercially available information to comprehensively understand the country’s rivals’ investments and development activities in science and technology.

The DOD is particularly interested in technological areas such as AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, biotechnology and high-performance computing.

The OSINT platforms should be able to identify new science and technology trends in each field of interest by analyzing open-source data and recognizing unique patterns defined by the users. Additionally, they should be able to describe the individuals, organizations and networks involved in these trends.

The US may be playing catch-up in tracking China’s scientific and technological developments. In September 2022, Asia Times reported on a private intelligence report by Strider Technology that claims that China is using US expertise and resources to advance its military and strategic interests.

The “Los Alamos Club” report reveals how China incentivizes its scientists to venture abroad, deepen their expertise and return home to pursue military and strategic projects. The report claims that Chinese scientists participating in sensitive US government-funded research aided China’s recent rapid advances in various vital military technologies.

The report also claims that China employs a “Talent Superpower Strategy” to incentivize academics, researchers and scientists to advance its interests as part of its Thousand Talents Program (TTP).

It alleges that China has applied this human resource strategy at the US Los Alamos National Laboratory, the leading US Department of Energy (DOE) research facility for designing nuclear warheads and finding solutions to emerging threats.

It highlights China’s recruitment strategy for scientists, which allows for transferring sensitive technology back to China. It also cites instances where Chinese researchers have returned dual-use and export-controlled technology to China.

In 2018, the US Trump administration initiated the China Initiative to tackle espionage in US research and industry after the theft of sensitive technologies. Subsequently, the DOE issued guidelines in 2019 that banned contractors and employees from participating in foreign talent recruitment programs.

The US government has prosecuted both Chinese and US scientists who have been found guilty of conspiring to steal trade secrets, making false statements, committing tax offenses and having undisclosed connections to TTP and Chinese universities.

However, the China Initiative has been criticized for its criminal lens and stoked fears of racial profiling, hate crimes, government surveillance, professional career difficulties and racism, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) ending it in February 2022.

While not an overt espionage tool, China’s Supermind AI may be used to identify key personnel who could be bribed, deceived or manipulated into divulging classified information.

In June 2023, The New York Times Magazine reported on the case of a General Electric (GE) aviation engineer surnamed Hua who was tricked into leaking classified aircraft technology under the guise of academic collaboration.

The New York Times states that Hua’s work at GE involved designing containment cases for the rotating fan blades of jet engines with carbon-based composites instead of metal, leading to lighter engines and a commercial advantage.

The source states Hua was invited to deliver a presentation at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) and he was careful not to divulge the specifics of his work at GE.

Despite that, it says Hua had downloaded classified GE information into his laptop to prepare his NUAA presentation. The source says that he forgot to delete his presentation, including some slides with the GE logo, which was uploaded to the NUAA auditorium computer.

It also mentions that during his trip to Nanjing, Hua was introduced to Qu Hui, supposedly the deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Association for International Science and Technology Development, but who was actually Xu Yanjun, a Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) agent tasked with stealing sensitive US technologies such as materials used in the US F-22 fighter.

The New York Times says that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) got wind of Hua’s visit to Nanjing and persuaded him to be their counterintelligence asset to avoid charges.

With Hua’s help, the FBI managed to arrest Xu in Belgium in an entrapment operation by Belgian police. The report states that Xu was extradited to the US to face economic espionage charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has announced a new model that appears to have one of the best camera systems on the market – but it won’t be sold in the US and probably not in India either.

On February 25, the new Xiaomi 14 Ultra and standard model Xiaomi 14 smartphones were presented at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain. They had already been launched in China, but the Barcelona rollout marked their international debuts.

The 5G-compatible Xiaomi 14 Ultra features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor made by Taiwan’s TSMC using 4-nm process technology, a Leica-designed camera system with 50MP (megapixel) image sensors made by Japan’s Sony and a 6.36-inch display.

Tech news website Mashable calls it a “photography monster.” The Verge regards it as “a contender for the best camera phone of 2024” while noting that it is “going global – minus the US.” India Today writes “Xiaomi 14 Ultra looks great… but it is not coming to India.” It will, however, be sold in Europe including the United Kingdom.

The limited international distribution is generally attributed to Xiaomi’s product strategy and local market characteristics but the company has run into political trouble in both the US and India.

In January 2021, the US Department of Defense named Xiaomi as a “Communist Chinese Military Company.” But Xiaomi contested the decision and the US District Court for the District of Columbia voided the designation in May the same year.

In India, Xiaomi’s assets have been frozen, its funds seized due to alleged violation of foreign exchange regulations and its offices raided for alleged tax evasion. In response, Xiaomi accused Indian officials of threatening its executives during investigations.

That is unfortunate for camera geeks in both countries. From Barcelona, Ankita Garg of India Today writes:

“I couldn’t test much of its camera capabilities because of limited hands-on time with the device at the global launch, but my initial impression is that it can take some stunning photos in daylight and impressive portraits with lots of details, good background blur and well-balanced dynamic range. It would be great if Xiaomi decides to launch it in the Indian market later this year.”

Leica and Xiaomi tied up in July 2022 to combine the German camera maker’s image processing and quality tuning and computational imaging technology with Xiaomi’s smartphones.

According to market research organization IDC, Xiaomi ranked third worldwide in cell phone sales (after Apple and Samsung) in the fourth quarter of 2023 with 12.5% of the market.

The Leica-Xiaomi partnership superseded a similar agreement between Leica and Huawei that was derailed by US government sanctions, which temporarily collapsed Huawei’s cell phone business.

But Huawei has recovered, launching its popular Mate 60 Pro 5G model last August and overtaking Apple to regain the top spot in the Chinese market in the first six weeks of 2024. Xiaomi ranked third with a market share of 14%, according to local sources.

Detailed specs of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra include:

• a Leica quad-camera configuration with 50MP main, telephoto, periscope and ultra-wide still and video rear cameras;
• a 32MP front camera for selfies, also with video capability;
• Leica lenses;
• a Xiaomi imaging engine with motion and eye tracking, motion capture, lightning burst and ultra-wide telephoto night mode;
• a 6.36-inch TÜV Rheinland-certified AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display;
• a power-efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with an 8-core CPU and GPU from Qualcomm

Launched in October 2023, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the latest mobile processor from Qualcomm. According to the company, its central processing unit (CPU) is 30% faster and 20% more energy efficient than its predecessor while its graphics processing unit (GPU) is 25% faster and more efficient. Its neural processing unit (NPU) is also massively improved.

Altogether, publicly available expert assessments indicate that the performance of Qualcomm’s AI engine in computational photography and other applications is comparable to that of its counterparts from Apple and MediaTek.

The 50MP LYT-900 CMOS image sensor from Sony is the newest and most advanced model designed specifically for smartphone imaging. It is also used in the recently launched Oppo Find X7 Ultra, another highly regarded Chinese camera phone.

The Find X7 Ultra’s specs are similar to those of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and image sensors from Sony. The Oppo HyperTone image engine was developed in partnership with Swedish camera maker Hasselblad. Oppo makes its own cameras and lenses.

WIRED comments: “Before I tell you how phenomenal the Oppo Find X7 Ultra camera is, I must point out that this phone is not officially available outside of China.” That’s convenient – for Apple.

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