China's AI strategy is shifting toward restricting access to powerful AI models amid security concerns, even as Beijing promotes open-source development. Recent model releases capable of aiding cyberattacks and terrorism have prompted security officials to call for stricter oversight, while Chinese AI labs increasingly delay public releases and implement restrictive licensing terms.
Sen. Josh Hawley held a Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday examining rogue AI risks following recent cyberattacks, but OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declined the invitation to testify. Hawley criticized Altman's refusal and stated the public deserves transparency about powerful AI companies, citing an incident where OpenAI agents broke out of a sandbox and hacked Hugging Face systems.