Bipartisan bill seeks to ban Chinese AI from federal agencies, as U.S. vows to win the AI race
'We are in a new Cold War, and AI is the strategic technology at the center,' Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on China, said as he opened a hearing on the matter. 'The future balance of power may very well be determined by who leads in AI.'
The hearing on Capitol Hill comes about five months after a Chinese technology start-up called DeekSeek introduced an AI model that rivaled platforms from OpenAI and Google in performance, but cost only a fraction to build. This raised concerns that China was catching up to U.S. despite restrictions on chips and other key technologies used to develop AI.
The ever-tighter race is now a central part of the U.S.-China rivalry. And so much is at stake that the U.S. must win, witnesses told the congressional panel.
The two countries are 'in a long-term techno-security competition that will determine the shape of the global political order for the coming years,' said Thomas Mahnken, president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
Jack Clark, co-founder and head of policy at Anthropic, told the committee that AI has built-in values.
'I know that AI systems are a reflection of the societies that are built from. AI built in democracies will lead to better technology for all of humanity. AI built in authoritarian nations will... be inescapably intertwined and imbued with authoritarianism,' Clark said. 'We must take decisive action to ensure America prevails.'
Earlier this year, Chris Lehane, OpenAI's head of global affairs, told reporters in Paris that the U.S. and China were the only two countries in the world that could build AI at scale. The competition, which he described as one between democratic AI and autocratic AI, is 'very real and very serious,' and the stakes are 'enormous,' he said, for 'the global rails of AI will be built by one of those two countries.'
The 2025 AI Index Report by Stanford University's Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence center has the U.S. in the lead in producing top AI models. But the report notes China is rapidly closing the performance gap, reaching near parity in 2024 on several major benchmarks. It also shows that China leads in AI publications and patents.
At the hearing, Clark urged the lawmakers to maintain and strengthen export controls of advanced chips to China. 'This competition fundamentally runs on compute,' he said. The U.S. must control the flow of powerful chips to China, Clark said, 'or else you're giving them the tools they will need to build powerful AI to harm American interests.'
Mark Beall, Jr., president of government affairs at The AI Policy Network, said there are 'a number of very glaring gaps' in the U.S. export controls that have allowed China to obtain controlled chips. Lawmakers earlier this year introduced a bill to track such chips to ensure they would not be diverted to the wrong hands.
In another legislative step, Republican and Democratic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate on Wednesday introduced a bill to ban Chinese AI systems in the federal government.
'The U.S. must draw a hard line: hostile AI systems have no business operating inside our government,' Moolenaar said.
The No Adversarial AI Act, as proposed, seeks to identify AI systems developed by foreign adversaries and ban their use in the U.S. government, with exceptions for use in research and counter terrorism.
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Medical News Today
24 minutes ago
- Medical News Today
Mediterranean diet may not improve brain health in all aging populations
Past studies show the Mediterranean diet may help protect a person from cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, and other types of dementia.A new study says the opposite may be true for African Americans, finding that a long-term Mediterranean diet intervention did not help improve cognitive did find that the Mediterranean diet intervention helped study participants better adhere to the diet, resulting in clinically meaningful weight the last few years, the Mediterranean diet has gained in popularity as research continues to find new ways in which it may help a person's overall health. For example, past studies have linked the Mediterranean diet to a lower risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and certain cancers. Previous research has also found that following the Mediterranean diet may help protect a person from cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, and other types of a new study recently published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports suggests the opposite may be true for African Americans, finding that a long-term Mediterranean Diet intervention did not help improve cognitive function. Scientists did find that the Mediterranean diet intervention helped study participants better adhere to the diet, resulting in clinically meaningful weight loss. Focusing on the African American populationFor this study, researchers recruited 185 participants with an average age of 66 at the start of the study and average body mass index (BMI) of 37.1 kg/m², which is classified as obese. Of the participant pool, 91% identified as non-Hispanic Black or African American and 86% identified as female.'We saw that the ability of diet to improve cognitive health in older African American adults was extremely understudied even though they may be at higher risk for cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's disease,' Andrew McLeod, PhD, a post-doctoral research associate at the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago, and first author of this study, told Medical News Today. Study participants were randomly selected to follow an eight-month Mediterranean diet lifestyle intervention with weight loss or without weight loss. This intervention period was followed by a six-month maintenance period. 'We chose the Mediterranean Diet because it had been shown to be associated with better cognition in adults,' McLeod said. 'However, the evidence at the time of writing the grant for the study was still limited. We felt we needed more evidence of the benefits of a Mediterranean diet before recommending it on a population level scale.' Fat loss but no changes in cognitionAt the study's conclusion, researchers found that there was no change in cognition after adhering to the Mediterranean diet, regardless of whether weight loss was achieved or not. 'We think that this means that we should be conducting longer dietary interventions, like the PREDIMED trial, which was five years,' McLeod said. 'With a study like that, we are confident we would see a cognitive benefit in our study population.'Scientists did find that those following the eight-month Mediterranean Diet lifestyle intervention with weight loss had improved adherence to the diet and led to greater weight loss, with an average weight loss of 3.8 kg over 14 months, as well as a reduction in visceral adipose tissue mass. 'We think this is important because it suggests that with even longer follow-up, say a few years, our participants may still be adhering to a Mediterranean diet and would still be at a weight lower than when they started the intervention,' McLeod explained. 'This may translate not only to cognitive benefits years later, but also cardiovascular and metabolic benefits, ultimately leading to increased lifespan and healthspan.''The next steps are potentially to explore the reasons why some participants were strongly adherent to their intervention group and why some were not,' he continued. 'We're also interested in possibly finding subgroups of participants who did benefit cognitively from the trial. We'll be looking at psychosocial variables, such as level of social support, to try to figure this out. Stay tuned.'More dementia studies on African American communities neededMNT had the opportunity to speak with Rehan Aziz, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this study, who commented that he was encouraged to see a well-designed trial focused on older African American adults, a group often left out of dementia prevention research. 'My first reaction was appreciation that the study prioritized cultural representation,' Aziz continued. 'At the same time, I wasn't surprised by the finding that short-term changes in diet and weight didn't translate into cognitive gains over 14 months — because brain health is a long game. A longer-term study with more significant decreases in body mass index may have yielded different results. Still, the weight loss and improved diet quality were real wins that could lower dementia risk indirectly through better cardiovascular and metabolic health.' As past studies have shown a correlation between following the Mediterranean diet and improved cognitive function, Aziz explained there are a few likely reasons as this was not the case in this study. Why no to little change in cognition?'First, the study only ran for 14 months, and cognitive change is slow and may take years to show up. Second, although participants improved their diet and lost weight, the differences between groups may not have been large or sustained enough to impact the brain. Also, some benefits may rely on deeper metabolic changes — like improved insulin sensitivity — which didn't shift meaningfully in this group.'— Rehan Aziz, MD'I'd like to see longer-term studies, at least three to five years, with even greater support for maintaining diet and lifestyle changes,' Aziz added. 'Most importantly, we need more dementia prevention trials that center on African American communities.'New study offers much to learn MNT also had the chance to speak with David Cutler, MD, a board certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, about this research. Cutler said that while this study did not find a significant improvement in cognitive function, there is still much to be learned from it. 'Certain limitations to this recent study don't preclude the possibility that a Mediterranean diet might also yield cognitive benefits in addition to the demonstrated metabolic benefits,' he explained. 'The detailed questionnaires and measurements of cognitive functions are not as familiar to most patients and healthcare practitioners as weight and waist circumference. And the efforts to prove cognitive benefits are likewise more challenging than proving metabolic benefits from a Mediterranean diet.' 'The cognitive impact of these sensible dietary changes may not have been detected due to the relatively short 14 months of study — eight months of dietary intervention followed by six months of follow-up,' Cutler continued. 'So, despite the study being titled 'Long-term outcome…' cognitive impacts may take far longer than a year to develop.'Why the Mediterranean diet is still beneficial'We should not dismiss the overall benefits of a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet over a traditional high saturated fat, low fruit and vegetable American diet. Perhaps the most important benefit is a reduction in body fat, more so than simply a loss in weight. And while this dietary change may not yield a measurable improvement in cognitive function, the positive health effects should not be ignored.' — David Cutler, MD
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shocking secret of tearful Bryan Kohberger prosecutor, Bill Thompson, whose death penalty-sparing plea deal sparked widespread fury
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But the plea deal is not a shock to those familiar with the 68-year-old's career - Thompson has a history of striking a deal rather than seek capital punishment for the killers he's prosecuted, as highlighted in a new report by the Idaho Statesman. The last mass murder caser Thompson prosecuted, eight years before the Kohberger case, had a similar conclusion. Thompson brokered a deal that saw John Lee, 29, admit to killing three people in 2015, including his adoptive mother, in exchange for removing the possibility of the death penalty. Similarly, in 2014, Thompson struck a deal with Silas Parks, 25, who agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter after he strangled his pregnant wife to death. In that case, Thomas did not seek the death penalty because there was not enough evidence that the killings were premeditated. Instead, Parks was sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison. 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'On November 13, 2022, excuse me...,' Thompson said, growing emotional as he reached for a sip of water and a colleague patted him on the back. Kohberger stared coldly ahead as Thompson laid out the timeline, saying that he stalked the students' home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho before the slayings. Thompson said the state would have argued in court that Kohberger slipped in through a side door before killing Mogen and Goncalves on the third floor. He said Kohberger then encountered Kernodle as she came down the stairs to pick up a Doordash order, and killed her with the same Ka-Bar knife he used on her roommates. He then entered Kernodle's bedroom and stabbed her sleeping boyfriend Chapin to death, Thompson said. As Kohberger's victims' loved ones sobbed in the courtroom, the killer showed no emotion and stared ahead. 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The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
US neo-fascist group claims it is part of Texas floods relief efforts
A US racist and neo-fascist hate group that has become a public fixture in recent years has descended on central Texas in a stunt it claims is part of the 'disaster relief' efforts under way after the devastating flash floods hit the region last week. Patriot Front, founded following the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where its leader, Thomas Rousseau, a Texan, was later charged for his participation, has claimed on its Telegram app channel that it has shown up in the areas near Camp Mystic, where 27 young campers lost their lives. 'Patriot Front is here in central Texas,' Rousseau declares in a video statement, amid the backdrop of what sounds like buzzing chainsaws and a flood ravaged community, 'responding to the flooding, which has destroyed communities and taken the lives of scores of Americans'. Rousseau goes on to claim that his so-called 'activists' are distributing supplies to survivors, but clarifies that his group is prioritizing their 'people' and 'European peoples' in those operations. The far-right compulsion to disguise racist actions under the terms of humanitarianism, has its roots in Adolf Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf, where he prescribes to his readers to take pride in keeping their collective communities strong as a not-so-hidden metaphor for cleansing it of what they deemed other, undesirable peoples. Similarly, American hate groups, second amendment-oriented militias, and neo-Nazi street gangs have long shown up as community relief cadres across the US, in a sort of ploy to whitewash their images as dangerous forces in the country. After hurricanes struck the Carolinas and Florida in fall 2024, Patriot Front also exploited the moment during a particularly polarizing presidential campaign season, showing up to clear debris in badly hit communities. 'It's not surprising to see Patriot Front inserting itself into disaster relief in Texas,' said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, who has researched rightwing extremism in the US for decades. 'The group was founded there, and like other extremist groups, they want to take advantage of relief efforts to mainstream their ideas, present themselves as non-threatening and helping the community, and ultimately use what they hope will be positive PR to recruit and grow,' Beirich noted that everyone from Klansmen to armed militias have seen value in public appearances providing disaster aid. Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion 'We've seen David Duke do this in the past, and more recently Veterans on Patrol inserted themselves into the relief efforts in Asheville after last year's hurricane,' she said. 'The concern is that it works – and Patriot Front's white supremacist agenda gets laundered as positive, and that helps them spread hate and recruit.' Last week, Patriot Front caused a stir in Louisville, Kentucky, over the holiday weekend when its masked-members marched to the beat of drums in downtown streets holding a Confederate banner, which has become a commonplace demonstration for the group having previously appeared in Boston around the fourth of July weekend in 2022. Thomas Rousseau has sometimes tried to soften his image in public statements, referring to himself and his crew, merely as political 'activists'. But recent Guardian reporting shows the group has increasingly allied itself with the neo-Nazi Active Club movement and the white supremacist leader Robert Rundo.
