Photo: from China's Ministry of State Security (MSS)

China's security authority highlighted a new frontier in national security—Artificial Intelligence (AI) security on Thursday, warning its hidden risk is very likely to profoundly alter China's existing national security landscape in the near future.

Despite AI technologies represented by ChatGPT having rapidly advanced since 2023, creating enormous opportunities via its wide usage in finance, healthcare, transportation and manufacturing, it can heighten the risk of data theft, cyber-attacks, economic security, "data poisoning" and military security, according to an article released by China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) on Thursday.

The MSS said AI could be used to steal significant volumes ofsensitive information and to help hackers easily launch targeted and covert attacks against specific targets at anytime and anywhere. As an "efficient substitute" for human labor to some extent, AI technologies could impact national economic security, social security, and even political security.

"Data poisoning" refers to the act of injecting malicious data into AI training datasets to disrupt the normal operation of data analysis models, the MSS explained,citing the example of "data poisoning" in intelligent automotive systems leading to traffic accidents or through media channels to negatively influence public sentiment.  

MSS said AI could be used in Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAW), helping to conceal the origin of attackers through autonomous target recognition and remote automated operations. It could also make military actions more targeted, objectives clearer, and the range of strikes broader by interconnecting networks, decision-makers and operators. 

National security officials stressed the need to enhancetechnological and digital empowerment to address the risks and seize the strategic initiative of AI development.

It said clearer laws and regulation should be passed to ensure the privacy and data security of individuals, urging companies and individuals in AI industry to consciously enhance their security awareness. MSS also emphasized international information exchanges and technology cooperation.

In late October, China launched the Global AI Governance Initiative, offering an open, inclusive and fair approach for the development, security and governance for emerging artificial intelligence technologies and services.