Microsoft plans to announce $1.5 billion investment on Tuesday G42The United Arab Emirates’ artificial intelligence giant, in a deal largely orchestrated by the Biden administration, aims to exclude China as Washington and Beijing battle over who will wield technological influence in the Gulf and beyond.
Under the partnership, Microsoft will allow G42 to sell Microsoft services that use powerful AI chips that are used to train and fine-tune generative AI models. In return, the G42, which has come under scrutiny from Washington over its ties to China, will use Microsoft’s cloud services and accept security arrangements agreed in detailed dialogue with the US government. It implemented a series of protections for artificial intelligence products shared with G42 and included an agreement to exclude Chinese equipment from G42 operations.
“When it comes to emerging technologies, you can’t be in the Chinese camp and our camp at the same time,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. She traveled to the UAE twice to discuss security arrangements for this and other partnerships.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in an interview that the agreement was highly unusual and reflected the U.S. government’s extraordinary focus on protecting the intellectual property behind artificial intelligence projects.
“The United States is naturally concerned that its most important technologies are guarded by trusted American companies,” said Mr. Smith, who will serve on the G42 board.
The investment could help the United States counter China’s growing influence in the Gulf. If this move is successful, the G42 will join the US camp and reduce relations with China. The deal could also become a model for how U.S. companies can use their technological leadership in artificial intelligence to lure other countries away from Chinese technology while reaping huge financial rewards.
But the matter is sensitive because U.S. officials have raised questions about the G42.This year, a congressional committee wrote a letter urging the Commerce Department Check to see if it is G42 Should be subject to trade restrictions because of their ties to China, including partnerships with Chinese companies and employees from government-linked companies.
Ms. Raimondo said in an interview that she has been at the center of efforts to prevent China from acquiring nuclear weapons. State-of-the-art semiconductors and the equipment to make them, saying the agreement “does not authorize the transfer of artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence models, or GPUs” — the processors needed to develop artificial intelligence applications — and “ensures that these technologies can be developed, protected, and deployed securely. “
While the UAE and the United States have not signed a separate agreement, Ms. Raimondo said, “We have been briefed extensively and we are convinced that this agreement is consistent with our values.”
Peng Xiao, CEO of G42 Group, said in a statement, “Through Microsoft’s strategic investment, we are advancing our mission of providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology at scale.”
The United States and China have been racing to exert technological influence in the Gulf region, where hundreds of billions of dollars are up for grabs by major investors, including saudi arabia, billions of dollars are expected to be spent on the technology. In the rush to diversify beyond oil, many leaders in the region have set their sights on artificial intelligence and are happy to drive a wedge between the United States and China.
Although the UAE is an important diplomatic and intelligence partner of the United States and one of the largest buyers of American weapons, it has increasingly expanded military and economic ties with China.part of it home monitoring system The company is built on Chinese technology, with hardware for its telecommunications work coming from Chinese supplier Huawei. That heightened concerns among U.S. officials, who frequently visit the Persian Gulf country to discuss security issues.
But U.S. officials are also concerned that without adequate protections, the spread of powerful artificial intelligence technology critical to national security could end up being exploited by engineers in China or with ties to the Chinese government.Last month, the U.S. The Cybersecurity Review Board has harshly criticized a Microsoft hack in which Chinese attackers gained access to the data of senior officials. Any major leaks — such as G42 selling Microsoft artificial intelligence solutions to Chinese companies set up in the region — would run counter to the Biden administration’s policies aimed at limiting China’s access to cutting-edge technology.
“This is one of the most advanced technologies the United States has,” said Gregory Allen, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former U.S. defense official who works on artificial intelligence. “It should be outsourced anywhere. There are very strategic reasons.”
For Microsoft, the G42 deal has the potential to gain access to the UAE’s vast wealth. The company, whose chairman is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE’s national security adviser and the brother of the country’s ruler, is a central part of the UAE’s efforts to become a major player in artificial intelligence .
Although its name is whimsically taken from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, in which the answer to “life’s ultimate question” is 42, G42 is deeply rooted in the UAE’s security state. It focuses on artificial intelligence and recently worked on building an Arabic chatbot called Jais.
G42 also focuses on biotechnology and surveillance. Several executives, including Mr. Shaw, have been linked to a company called DarkMatter, an Emirati cyber intelligence and hacking firm that employs former spies.
The bipartisan House Select Committee on the Communist Party of China said in a letter this year that Mr. Xiao has ties to a broad network of companies that “substantially support” the Chinese military’s technological advances.
The origins of Tuesday’s agreement can be traced to a White House meeting last year, when top national security aides asked tech executives a question about how to encourage commercial arrangements that would deepen U.S. relationships with businesses around the world, especially those in which China is also interested. enterprise.
Under the agreement, the G42 will stop using Huawei telecommunications equipment, which the United States fears could provide a backdoor for Chinese intelligence agencies. The agreement further commits G42 to seeking permission before sharing its technology with other governments or militaries and prohibits it from using the technology for surveillance. Microsoft will also have the right to audit G42’s use of its technology.
The G42 will leverage artificial intelligence computing power from Microsoft’s data centers in the UAE, which is sensitive technology and cannot be sold in the country without an export license. Gaining computing power could give G42 a competitive advantage in the region. The second phase of the deal, which is likely to be more contentious and has yet to be negotiated, could transfer some of Microsoft’s artificial intelligence technology to G42.
U.S. intelligence officials have expressed concerns about the G42’s ties to China in a series of classified assessments. The New York Times previously reported. Biden administration officials have also urged their Emirati counterparts to cut the company’s ties with China. Some officials believe the U.S. pressure campaign has achieved some results but remain concerned about the G42’s less public relationship with China.
A G42 executive previously worked at Chinese AI surveillance company Yitu, which has extensive ties to Chinese security agencies and runs facial recognition-driven surveillance across the country. The company also has ties to Chinese genetics giant BGI, whose subsidiaries were blacklisted by the Biden administration last year.Mr. Xiao also led a company that was involved in the launch and Operate social media applicationsToTok, which U.S. intelligence agencies say is a Emirati spy tool used to collect user data.
In recent months, the G42 has agreed to roll back some of its ties with China, including divesting its stake in TikTok parent ByteDance and removing Huawei Technologies from its operations, according to U.S. officials.
Edward Wong Contributed reporting.
