Internal Debate Over Chinese AI
The Trump administration is divided over how to address the rapid progress of China's leading artificial intelligence models, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
The disagreement pits parts of the White House against the Commerce Department. The White House has pushed for tighter controls on Chinese AI that could soon match the most powerful US models. The Commerce Department has argued that those restrictions are not workable.
This issue has become the latest point of tension for the administration on AI. It follows the release last week of Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model, which rivals top US models from Anthropic and OpenAI.
Distillation Attacks Under Scrutiny
In recent days, senior White House officials have discussed possible measures to prevent Chinese AI labs from developing their models by training them on US models. This technique is known as distillation, the sources said.
The White House is expected to take some form of presidential action after Anthropic alleged last month that Chinese tech company Alibaba had carried out the largest known distillation attack against it. The action is not currently expected to be an executive order, according to one person familiar with the matter.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the reporting.
The White House has been treating distillation attacks with particular seriousness. It announced on Wednesday that Moonshot had developed Kimi K3 by distilling Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 model. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business that covert distillation could lead to sanctions, calling it intellectual property theft.
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Commerce Department's Alternative Approach
While proposals have been circulating inside the White House, no formal request for input has yet been sent to the Commerce Department, which has its own ideas, according to two people familiar with the deliberations.
The Commerce Department has become an increasingly influential player in the intra-administration split over AI. This is partly because it oversees export controls through the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has considered ways to create incentives for top US labs to release their own open weight models as a counterbalance to China. He has spoken with leaders at several AI labs in recent weeks, the sources added.
Lutnick appears to be taking a middle ground on regulation. He imposed export controls on Anthropic to bring the company into line, but has been more flexible than White House AI policy chief Michael Cairncross, one person said.
Broader AI Policy Challenges
Earlier this month, the biggest AI issue for the administration was Anthropic's Claude Mythos and Fable 5 models. Those models raised concerns because of their ability to find vulnerabilities in government systems and critical infrastructure.
But policy challenges with AI have only grown with the rise of so-called open weight models from China. These models have few or no safeguards to prevent hacking into government systems and can be downloaded and used by anyone.