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Feds Target AI Critics as "Foreign Agents"

396 points · 457 comments · nmeagent

  1. 737min · · focus · HN ↗
    CCP is pushing and amplifying AI opposition efforts, that’s a fact regardless of US politics. CCP is also working hard to smuggle around American export control laws for AI tech, at the same time.

    <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.justice.gov&#x2F;opa&#x2F;pr&#x2F;american-citizen-who-worked-agent-prc-sentenced-two-years-prison" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.justice.gov&#x2F;opa&#x2F;pr&#x2F;american-citizen-who-worked-a...

    <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.latimes.com&#x2F;california&#x2F;story&#x2F;2026-07-28&#x2F;fbi-raids-target-san-bernardino-county-supervisor-ontario-councilman" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.latimes.com&#x2F;california&#x2F;story&#x2F;2026-07-28&#x2F;fbi-raid...

    <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.justice.gov&#x2F;opa&#x2F;pr&#x2F;chinese-national-and-two-us-citizens-charged-conspiring-smuggle-artificial-intelligence" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.justice.gov&#x2F;opa&#x2F;pr&#x2F;chinese-national-and-two-us-c...

    <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.justice.gov&#x2F;opa&#x2F;pr&#x2F;former-google-engineer-found-guilty-economic-espionage-and-theft-confidential-ai-technology" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.justice.gov&#x2F;opa&#x2F;pr&#x2F;former-google-engineer-found-...

    Etc

    1. dumberquestions · · focus · HN ↗
      I have no doubt China is taking part, what I doubt is that this makes any meaningful part of the total US anti AI sentiment, which can be much more easily explained by job loss anxieties, fear of massive change and good old NIMBYism. (Obligatory not an American).
      1. CGamesPlay · · focus · HN ↗
        &gt; job loss anxieties, fear of massive change and good old NIMBYism

        A lot of which is fake &quot;grassroots&quot; movements by... foreign actors. This isn&#x27;t new:

        - 2021: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;cloud.google.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;topics&#x2F;threat-intelligence&#x2F;pro-prc-influence-campaign-expands-dozens-social-media-platforms-websites-and-forums&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;cloud.google.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;topics&#x2F;threat-intelligence&#x2F;pro...

        - 2022: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;cloud.google.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;topics&#x2F;threat-intelligence&#x2F;dragonbridge-targets-rare-earths-mining-companies" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;cloud.google.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;topics&#x2F;threat-intelligence&#x2F;dra...

        1. willy_k · · focus · HN ↗
          I’d argue most of the job loss anxieties come from these companies’ stated goals being to take all the jobs…
          1. simoncion · · focus · HN ↗
            Exactly.

            When the CEO of OpenAI says that he expects at least 40% of all jobs to be eliminated by 2030 by the tool that&#x27;s also making personal computing -whether PC or smartphone-, video gaming, and on-prem business computing somewhere between incredibly expensive and unaffordable, and driving up the price for just about everything else substantially -because just about everything has a computer in it or depends on computer-controlled processes these days-, you don&#x27;t need some boogyman theory to understand why people are angry about the thing that&#x27;s making the already-rich far, far richer.

            Though. blaming it on the boogyman does have the benefit that you don&#x27;t actually have to address the concerns of those revolting peasants!

            1. GolfPopper · · focus · HN ↗
              &gt;. blaming it on the boogyman does have the benefit that you don&#x27;t actually have to address the concerns of those revolting peasants!

              The establishment and its techbro enablers have messed up so badly that telling the torch people that the pitchfork people want to take their torches isn&#x27;t working anymore. So now they&#x27;re moving on to claiming that anyone with a torch or a pitchfork is secretly working for the next kingdom over.

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