一些現任和前任美國官員向路透社表示，美國準備加大對中國投資硅谷企業的審查力度，以更好地保護美方認為事關國家安全的敏感技術。

中國對人工智能和機器學習等領域的興趣格外受關注。近些年這些行業吸引的中國資本日漸增多。美國擔心中國可能利用尖端技術增強軍事實力，甚至可能用來暗中推進戰略性產業。

美國政府正考慮擴大美國外資投資委員會（CFIUS）的權力。該委員會隸屬政府機關，主要目標是審查外資收購美國企業的交易以保障國家安全。

路透社記者看到，美國國防部在一份未公開的報告中警告稱中國在規避美國的監督，通過目前不會引起CFIUS審查的交易獲取敏感技術。交易方式包括成立合資企業、持有企業少數股權，投資早期的初創公司等。

一位不方便公開評論的特朗普政府官員稱：“鑒于中國（在科技領域）掠奪行動頻頻，為保證美國經濟長遠的健康和安全，我們考慮調整CFIUS。”

本周二，美國國防部長吉姆?馬蒂斯也加入了爭論，稱CFIUS已“過時”，還在參議院的一場聽證會上表示：“為了應對當前的形勢，需要與時俱進。”

CFIUS由美國財政部領導，共有九名常務委員，其中包括國防部、司法部、國土安全部、商務部、國務院和能源部的代表。CFIUS的委員神秘低調，即便對某筆交易做出判定也不會發表評論。

前總統奧巴馬執政時期，CFIUS叫停了一系列中資對高端芯片商發起的收購。

美國參議院共和黨二號人物約翰?康寧的一位助理表示，康寧參議員正在草擬法案，將擴大CFIUS的權力，可以阻止外資的一些技術投資。

這位拒絕透露身份的助理說：“人工智能是中國爭取的眾多頂尖技術之一，而且有軍事應用的潛力。”

該助理稱：“這些技術很新，我們的出口控制系統還沒覆蓋到，所以能透過現有保護機制的漏洞外流。”

康寧的法案將要求，一旦收購方來自經確認可能威脅美國國家安全的國家，CFIUS就應加強交易審查。上述助理透露，CFIUS將保有一份威脅國家名單，但沒有說明誰來擬定名單。

該助理還說，康寧的法案不會明確指出哪些技術將面臨CFIUS的審查，但將確定一種機制，由國防部聯合商務部、能源部和科技界進行甄別。

美國智庫戰略與國際研究中心的軍事技術專家詹姆斯?劉易斯認為，美國政府正努力跟上科技發展的腳步。

劉易斯說：“中國人找到一種新辦法，在涉及技術轉讓的境外投資方面避開防護。然后他們利用新技術在經濟和軍事方面超過我們。”

“我覺得事關重大。”

但一些行業專家警告，美國加強監管可能沒法制止技術轉讓，還可能招致中國的報復，對美國自身經濟會造成負面影響。

據研究機構榮鼎咨詢估算，2016年，美國成為中國最大對外直接投資目的國，已完成的收購和初創公司投資規模合計456億美元。榮鼎咨詢稱，2017年1月到5月，中國的投資合計220億美元，較上年同期增長一倍。

榮鼎咨詢的經濟學家希羅?哈內曼預計，如果美國的法案過于激進，“科技業將會出現大幅衰退。”

人工智能讓無人機作戰如虎添翼

就在美國擔憂中國向先進技術領域滲透時，美國軍方正考慮將人工智能與機器學習元素加入無人機項目。

該項目代號Project Maven，旨在減輕軍事分析員的負擔，協助打擊極端恐怖組織“伊斯蘭國”。

目前軍事分析員要長時間盯著大屏幕，監看無人機發回的視頻，搜尋伊拉克和阿富汗等地的叛亂分子。

負責作戰支援的美國國防情報主管、空軍中將約翰.N.T.“杰克”?沙納漢表示，國防部在開發一些算法，讓計算機自動篩選材料，出現重要線索時及時提醒分析員。

“很多時候無人機只是飛來飛去，沒什么值得關注的。”沙納漢向路透表示。

沙納漢說，手下團隊在努力教系統識別卡車和建筑等物體，辨認人類，最終能識別出異于日常的變化，推動調查進展。

“我們會從小處著手，先做出一些成功的案例。”他說。

一位美國國防部官員表示，美國政府申請2018年為這一項目投入約3000萬美元。

硅谷企業正在以商業化為目標開發類似的圖像識別技術，但可能被美國的對手用于軍事目的。

沙納漢表示，中國企業投資此類技術一點也不令人意外。

“他們目標很明確。”他說。

研究機構CB Insights稱，自2012年年初以來，已發現29位中國內地的投資者投資美國的人工智能公司。

對美國構成的風險已經不僅限于技術轉讓。

美國國防部報告寫道：“如果中國人投資一家開發先進技術的初創公司，美國公司就會面臨機會成本，因為可能會失去（與美國國防部）合作的機會。”

中國投資

中國并沒有隱藏成為人工智能領域大國的雄心，海外收購是手段之一。

今年3月，中國的搜索引擎巨頭百度與國家發改委聯合成立了一家人工智能實驗室。舉個最近的例子，百度4月同意收購美國計算機視覺公司xPerception。xPerception制造的視覺感知軟硬件主要應用在機器人和虛擬現實領域。

美國智庫New America Foundation的機器人戰爭專家皮特?辛格指出：“中國正在人工智能領域大舉投資。”

上述美國國防部報告的初稿提出，美國政府監管存在局限的因素之一是，許多中資并非全面收購，沒達到CFIUS審查的標準。出口管制的初衷也不是控制新技術。

報告建議國防部擬定一份重要技術的名錄，限制中國投資相應技術。報告也提議大力開展反間諜行動。

報告還暗示，需要采取措施的遠不只軍事領域，還應修改移民政策，允許赴美攻讀研究生的中國學生完成學業后留在美國，而不是任由他們帶著重要技術歸國。

投資機構Menlo Ventures的董事總經理溫吉?加尼桑表示贊成，認為美國應該留住最優秀最聰明的人才。

加尼桑說：“我們最應該做的就是一畢業就給他們綠卡，讓他們留下來開發技術，而不是回國和我們競爭。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審稿：夏林

The United States appears poised to heighten scrutiny of Chinese investment in Silicon Valley to better shield sensitive technologies seen as vital to U.S. national security, current and former U.S. officials tell Reuters.

Of particular concern is China's interest in fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, which have increasingly attracted Chinese capital in recent years. The worry is that cutting-edge technologies developed in the United States could be used by China to bolster its military capabilities and perhaps even push it ahead in strategic industries.

The U.S. government is now looking to strengthen the role of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the inter-agency committee that reviews foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies on national security grounds.

An unreleased Pentagon report, viewed by Reuters, warns that China is skirting U.S. oversight and gaining access to sensitive technology through transactions that currently don't trigger CFIUS review. Such deals would include joint ventures, minority stakes and early-stage investments in start-ups.

"We're examining CFIUS to look at the long-term health and security of the U.S. economy, given China's predatory practices" in technology, said a Trump administration official, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis weighed into the debate on Tuesday, calling CFIUS "outdated" and telling a Senate hearing: "It needs to be updated to deal with today's situation."

CFIUS is headed by the Treasury Department and includes nine permanent members including representatives from the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, State and Energy. The CFIUS panel is so secretive it normally does not comment after it makes a decision on a deal.

Under former President Barack Obama, CFIUS stopped a series of attempted Chinese acquisitions of high-end chip makers.

Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, is now drafting legislation that would give CFIUS far more power to block some technology investments, a Cornyn aide said.

"Artificial intelligence is one of many leading-edge technologies that China seeks and that has potential military applications," said the Cornyn aide, who declined to be identified.

"These technologies are so new that our export control system has not yet figured out how to cover them, which is part of the reason they are slipping through the gaps in the existing safeguards," the aide said.

The legislation would require CFIUS to heighten scrutiny of buyers hailing from nations identified as potential threats to national security. CFIUS would maintain the list, the aide said, without specifying who would create it.

Cornyn's legislation would not single out specific technologies that would be subject to CFIUS scrutiny. But it would provide a mechanism for the Pentagon to lead that identification effort, with input from the U.S. technology sector, the Commerce Department, and the Energy Department, the aide said.

James Lewis, an expert on military technology at the Center for Security and International Studies, said the U.S. government is playing catch-up.

"The Chinese have found a way around our protections, our safeguards, on technology transfer in foreign investment. And they're using it to pull ahead of us, both economically and militarily," Lewis said.

"I think that's a big deal."

But some industry experts warn that stronger U.S. regulations may not succeed in halting technology transfer and might trigger retaliation by China, with economic repercussions for the United States.

China made the United States the top destination for its foreign direct investment in 2016, with $45.6 billion in completed acquisitions and greenfield investments, according to the Rhodium Group, a research firm. Investment from January to May 2017 totaled $22 billion, which represented a 100% increase against the same period last year, it said.

"There will be a significant pushback from the technology industry" if legislation is overly aggressive, Rhodium Group economist Thilo Hanemann said.

AI's Role in Drone Warfare

Concerns about Chinese inroads into advanced technology come as the U.S. military looks to incorporate elements of artificial intelligence and machine learning into its drone program.

Project Maven, as the effort is known, aims to provide some relief to military analysts who are part of the war against Islamic State.

These analysts currently spend long hours staring at big screens reviewing video feeds from drones as part of the hunt for insurgents in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon is trying to develop algorithms that would sort through the material and alert analysts to important finds, according to Air Force Lieutenant General John N.T. "Jack" Shanahan, director for defense intelligence for warfighting support.

"A lot of times these things are flying around(and)... there's nothing in the scene that's of interest," he told Reuters.

Shanahan said his team is currently trying to teach the system to recognize objects such as trucks and buildings, identify people and, eventually, detect changes in patterns of daily life that could signal significant developments.

"We'll start small, show some wins," he said.

A Pentagon official said the U.S. government is requesting to spend around $30 million on the effort in 2018.

Similar image recognition technology is being developed commercially by firms in Silicon Valley, which could be adapted by adversaries for military reasons.

Shanahan said he' not surprised that Chinese firms are making investments there.

"They know what they're targeting," he said.

Research firm CB Insights says it has tracked 29 investors from mainland China investing in U.S. artificial intelligence companies since the start of 2012.

The risks extend beyond technology transfer.

"When the Chinese make an investment in an early stage company developing advanced technology, there is an opportunity cost to the U.S. since that company is potentially off-limits for purposes of working with (the Department of Defense)," the report said.

Chinese Investment

China has made no secret of its ambition to become a major player in artificial intelligence, including through foreign acquisitions.

(bidu, -0.66%) launched an AI lab in March with China's state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission. In just one recent example, Baidu agreed in April to acquire U.S. computer vision firm xPerception, which makes vision perception software and hardware with applications in robotics and virtual reality.

"China is investing massively in this space," said Peter Singer, an expert on robotic warfare at the New America Foundation.

The draft Pentagon report cautioned that one of the factors hindering U.S. government regulation is that many Chinese investments fall short of outright acquisitions that can trigger a CFIUS review. Export controls were not designed to govern early-stage technology.

It recommended that the Pentagon develop a critical technologies list and restrict Chinese investments on that list. It also proposed enhancing counterintelligence efforts.

The report also signaled the need for measures that fall beyond the scope of the U.S. military. Those include altering immigration policy to allow Chinese graduate students the ability to stay in the United States after completing their studies, instead of taking their know-how back to China.

Venky Ganesan, managing director at Menlo Futures, concurs about the need to keep the best and brightest in the United States.

"The single biggest thing we can do is staple a green card to their diploma so that they stay here and build the technologies here—not go back to their countries and compete against us," Ganesan said.