BEIJING: The head of China's spy agency has warned that artificial intelligence endangers the country's national security, with foreign powers potentially using the technology to threaten social order.
"Hostile forces" were abusing generative AI technologies to "fabricate political rumours and spread harmful information", Minister of State Security Chen Yixin wrote in an article published online on Sunday.
"They launch public opinion wars and cognitive warfare against China, directly threatening our political security, institutional security and ideological security," he said.
The warning comes as Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington this month, with AI governance and safety set to be part of their discussions as calls mount for greater oversight of the technology.
US tech leaders have also called for slowing AI advances.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned on Saturday of the "reckless" speed of AI technology development, as worries mount over the risks of superintelligent computer systems.
OpenAI boss Sam Altman said he agreed with Amodei's assessment.
But Chen warned that AI was now "the main battleground for global technological competition and a new track for major power strategic rivalry".
He did not mention existential risks or putting the brakes on technological advances, but singled out Anthropic's Claude Mythos and OpenAI's ChatGPT-5.5-Cyber for their advanced hacking capabilities that potentially "pose serious risks to China's critical information infrastructure".
"Foreign intelligence agencies are deeply using technologies such as intelligent web crawlers, intelligent data mining, and intelligent profiling analysis to extensively collect and acquire sensitive information such as key national data, trade secrets, and citizens' personal privacy," Chen said.
The US-Iran war has also demonstrated AI's key role in the military, with better technology offering battlefield advantages, he said.
China must "ensure independent control of key core technologies" –- including the advanced computer chips vital to training AI models -- to secure its technology sovereignty, Chen wrote.