Chinese research scientists linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the military wing of China’s ruling party, have reportedly used Meta’s “open” AI to develop tools for defense applications.
Chinese researchers, including two from the PLA R&D Group, used Meta’s Llama 2 AI model to create a military-focused chatbot, according to Reuters. The chatbot, called ChatBIT, is designed to collect and process intelligence as well as provide information for operational decisions.
Meta told Reuters in a statement that its use of the “single and outdated” Llama model (Llama 2 is about a year old) was “unauthorized” and against its acceptable use policy. Reuters said it could not confirm ChatBIT’s functionality or computing power.
The report provides some of the first evidence that the Chinese military has attempted to utilize open models for defense purposes. This is sure to spark debate about the benefits and risks of open AI.
