Top US general to meet with Google over China security worries

The top U.S. general is meeting with representatives from Google next week to discuss growing concerns that American tech companies are helping China’s military.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford made the announcement in remarks at the Atlantic Council on Thursday.

{mosads}“If a company does business in China, they are automatically going to be required to have a cell of the Communist Party in that company,” he said. “That is going to lead to that intellectual property from that company finding its way to the Chinese military.”

Citing one example, Dunford said initiatives like Google’s artificial intelligence venture in China give the Chinese military access to U.S. technology it can then exploit.

Helping China improve artificial intelligence will “help an authoritarian government assert control over its own population,” Dunford said, adding that it could give the Chinese military an advantage over U.S. technology.

“If we do want to be the good guys, the ones that are actually leading an effort for the global order, it seems to be the United States is an important part of ensuring that global order remains the same,” he added.

Military officials and many lawmakers have expressed worries that the work of tech companies, in particular Google, could be helping China’s military.

Dunford blasted Google last week during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, saying its work in China is “indirectly benefiting the Chinese military.”

At the hearing, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan also echoed Dunford’s concerns, criticizing Google for pulling out of its Pentagon contracts while continuing its work with China.