As Congress remains mired in a bitter stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, lawmakers have quietly advanced a bill that would limit exports of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China – a move that treats the technology much like weapons sales and recognizes the vital importance of AI for military applications.
The AI Overwatch Act, which Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) introduced late last year, empowers the Secretary of Commerce to block the sale of certain advanced AI chips to entities from China, Iran, Russia, and other “countries of concern.” The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced the bill in January, and it could come up for a vote before the full House in the coming weeks.
The legislation is a direct response to concerns that Chinese AI companies may be using American tech to advance China’s AI sector – and develop military applications for it. U.S. officials have alleged that Chinese AI company DeepSeek is operating on tens of thousands of chips from U.S. company NVIDIA, which it acquired by circumventing existing export controls. The AI Overwatch Act seeks to close those loopholes and tighten export restrictions.
The proposed law allows non-blacklisted companies to buy slower chips without a Commerce Department license but requires government approval for the sale of more advanced chips. Congress would have authority to approve or block any sale or lease. Crucially, the bill would also revoke all current licenses.
Mast, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says that the bill elevates chip deals to the level of arms transactions in terms of how much scrutiny is placed on them. Meanwhile, it fast-tracks cutting-edge American AI technology into the hands of trusted allies and partners.
Leaders from six influential Congressional committees, overseeing foreign policy, intelligence, and cybersecurity, rallied behind the bill with strong endorsements.
“The chips that train frontier models can just as easily power military targeting, mass surveillance, and cyber operations,” House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee Chairman Keith Self said, underscoring why the AI Overwatch Act is necessary. “If you are an enemy of the United States, you should not have access to the best technology in the world.”
A Chinese dissident I interviewed for this column described the bill as a “decisive move,” explaining that it puts the United States in line with Chinese Communist Party policies ensuring that no valuable information escapes into the hands of adversaries.
Dr. Huang Kun, who once advised the CCP Standing Committee on defense before defecting to the West, told me that he believes Chinese military leaders hope to use American AI tech to build futuristic quantum computers that are exponentially more powerful than existing computers. A powerful enough quantum computer could hack any system in seconds and poses an existential threat to U.S. military capabilities.
In addition to acquiring American tech, China is also taking advantage of the globalized American education system, sending students to study and work in the United States before returning to China with all of their knowledge.
Just last month, Quantum physicist You Chenglong returned to China after more than a decade in the United States, taking up a full-time professorship at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) in Chengdu. After earning his PhD at Louisiana State University in 2019 and breaking new ground in quantum photonics, You brings back vital expertise to fortify China’s scientific ambitions.
While in the U.S., Mr. You’s research propelled measurement technology to the forefront of national and scientific possibilities, opening the door to advances in ultra-precise navigation and gravitational-wave detection with both military and scientific significance.
He collaborated with leading U.S. government facilities, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he pioneered experiments using multiple photons to detect minute changes with greater precision than traditional techniques.
Mr. You steps into an elite circle of scientists, personally chosen by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to shape the future of weaponry. Not coincidentally, in January the PLA Daily unveiled that quantum technology is now empowering the army to harvest critical military intelligence from the vast public Internet. Meanwhile, at least 10 experimental quantum cyberwarfare tools are in the pipeline, with several already being put through their paces in real-world missions.
A team of Chinese scientists, whose expertise was sharpened on the global stage, leads this ambitious project from a state-of-the-art laboratory fueled by a supercomputer at the National Defense University. Central to their mission is quantum sensing, as reported by PLA Daily. The homecoming of a physicist like Mr. You, armed with cutting-edge knowledge from the United States that unlocks ultra-precise navigation, will supercharge PLA efforts.
“Keep in mind, the CCP’s spotlight shines on the PLA, not the people,” said former PLA officer Cao Zhang, who defected to the West in the early 2000s. He emphasized that military priorities always outweigh civilian needs when it comes to Western technology. For example, Cao noted that the navigation system of “a leading U.S. EV-producer” powered Chinese self-driving attack platforms “long before Chinese electric car makers got their hands on it.” This is just one glimpse into how military interests come first.
This dynamic is evident again as the Chinese military reaps the rewards of the combined power of cutting-edge chips and older processors. The latest models, unveiled by Tsinghua University and flagged as PLA-affiliated, showcase this advantage.
Chinese researchers created a synthetic data pipeline to train AI models without using real-world data, using NVIDIA’s most powerful chips. Their aim was to develop a substitute for the data commonly used in AI training. The outcome, described in a scientific article, is SynthSmith, a platform that produces artificial data at all stages of AI development.
This breakthrough enabled Chinese researchers to craft a digital world that closely mirrors reality, a vital asset for military AI models that operate in environments where trustworthy data is both rare and highly sensitive. The project paper spotlights the pivotal role of NVIDIA H20 chips in powering the experiment.
A senior Japanese AI engineer commented anonymously that if the paper’s findings are accurate, the PLA has made “a tremendous qualitative leap.” The engineer noted that the Chinese army might now feel unconcerned about “most battlefield intelligence from areas like Ukraine or Venezuela, where the PLA suspects the U.S. has used its most advanced AI technologies” to confuse observers.
When asked whether tough restrictions might give China an advantage, former PLA officers and Chinese dissidents brushed off the concern. They pointed out that if the PLA had better options, it would have taken them already, but “nothing matches the spark of American innovation.”
The AI Overwatch Act aims to protect that innovation – and it couldn’t come a moment too soon.
Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.
I have no use for AI, we’re screwed when we give too much control to AI or politicians.
We have artificial intelligence; but no common sense! Our leaders “fiddle while Rome burns”! Lots of talk. No action. By the time protections are in place, those who wish us harm will be well equipped to overcome our resistance. America has one foot in the dumpster. Our leadership is pointing fingers and vying for money and power while our people struggle.
AI is the latest electronic cruse inflicted upon the human race. At my age, looking back, I see where we were far better off before being submerged in an electronic fog. Decades ago, there was concern about being too close to high voltage transmission lines for an extended time, today, we are submerged in a “London” dense fog of electronic transmissions and no study has been made of how it effects or physical or mental health, I think there could be a RERAL concern about mental health.
AI is a whole different, and probably deadly format of computer entity where creators have already experienced rebellion from their creation. They could be creating a hal 9000 like computer as foreseen in 2001 A Space Odyssey. Look at how many other sci fi
novels by Jules Vern, H.G. Wells, and George Orwell, for instance have foreseen reality in their pages.
I guess you’re one of those China First socialists who fill the Democratic Party.