Inside the terrifying AI tech China is using to hunt for American spies in ‘new Cold War'

Beijing is using artificial intelligence (AI) to hunt down American spies as a “new cold war” between China and the CIA erupts, an alarming new report has warned.

The Ministry of State Security (MSS), China’s top spy agency, is allegedly using facial recognition and AI to spy on foreign diplomats, military officers and intelligence operatives in Beijing’s embassy district.

That is according to a report published in The New York Times on Wednesday, which cited dozens of US officials and an individual with intel on the subject.

Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in DC, told the outlet: “For China in particular, exploiting the existing technology or trade secrets of others has become a popular shortcut encouraged by the government.

“The urgency and intensity of technological espionage have increased significantly.”

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David Cohen, the CIA’s deputy director, said that the spying unit has increasingly focused on gathering information on Chinese technological advances.

He told the Times: “We’ve been counting tanks and understanding the capability of missiles for longer than we have been as sharply focused on the capability of semiconductors or AI algorithms or biotech equipment.”

The report claimed that the terrifying system makes instant dossiers on each person of interest in the area.

It keeps tabs on their movements and contacts and can be used to establish their networks and potential vulnerabilities.

The MSS has in recent years scrambled to hire technology experts, including hackers, two people with knowledge of the recruiting efforts told the Times.

Now, experts have warned that Chinese firms, the military and their technological advances are catching Washington by surprise.

Peter Mattis, a former CIA analyst and China espionage expert, sad: “The US intelligence community can do amazing things on focused targets.

“But it sometimes can struggle with broad-based awareness like understanding China’s technology prowess.”

Washington has repeatedly accused Beijing of espionage and cyberattack in recent years, which China has denied.

Earlier this month, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that China’s spying efforts pose an “unprecedented threat” to the Western world.

He said during a meeting with the intelligence chiefs from the Five Eyes security pact: “China has long targeted businesses with a web of techniques all at once: cyber intrusions, human intelligence operations, seemingly innocuous corporate investments and transactions.

“Every strand of that web had become more brazen, and more dangerous.”

Beijing too has claimed that it has come under threat from American spies and has been scrambling to crack down on espionage activities.

Calder Walton, assistant director of the Applied History and Intelligence Project at Harvard Kennedy Centre, has likened the situation to a“new cold war”.

He told the South China Morning Post: ”There is a new cold war between China and the West at the moment and intelligence operations and intelligence agencies are the front line of this.”

Earlier this month, China’s state security ministry announced a to attract citizens to sign up for counter-espionage work.

It included setting up channels for individuals to report suspicious activity, commending and rewarding them for doing so.

It also unveiled a new anti-espionage law banning the transfer of any information linked to national security and interests without clarifying those terms. The move sparked alarm in Washington.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said: We do have concerns over it, certainly encouraging citizens to spy on each other is something that’s of great concern.”

“We are closely monitoring the implementation of China’s new counter-espionage law as we have been, which as written greatly expands the scope of what activities are considered espionage.”

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