Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On China’s Theft Of U.S. Innovation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Stealth Stealing: China's Ongoing Theft of U.S. Innovation." Durbin first asked Helen Toner, Interim Executive Director for the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), about President Trump's decision to sell American AI chips to China.

"I would like to ask you about this Nvidia chip sale to China. In the context of American innovation and competition for innovation, how [does] this makes sense? We take sophisticated computer chips and decide that China can buy them, which was the President's announcement, so long as we get 25 percent on the deal. Are we selling our souls here by giving away this kind of hard-fought innovation?" Durbin asked.

Ms. Toner responded that she thinks "controlling access to chips and to computing power is really the best lever we have in AI competition with China." She continued to say that she is encouraged that there has only been a small number of chips sold to China.

Durbin directed the same question to Professor Mark Cohen, Senior Fellow at the University of Akron Law School. Professor Cohen responded, "It sounds highly problematic to me to sell these chips to China, but it may be more problematic not to sell the chips to China, and I think we really need to understand that much better."

Durbin then asked about the impact of AI on the private sector and the race to obtain competitive research.

"Can you describe the current situation in terms of the government's role in our control over the [AI] research and what comes from it?" Durbin asked.

Ms. Toner sounded the alarm on AI. She responded to Durbin, "I think it is truly unprecedented the mismatch between how strategically important this technology is and how little involvement government has in developing it… We do not understand how deadly serious they are [private companies] about building machines that will outperform humans at everything… It sounds like science fiction, but it is truly what some of the wealthiest and most powerful companies [are doing]-pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into doing [AI]."

Durbin then asked Tom Lyons, founder of the 2430 Group, about the decrease in international students at American universities as the Trump Administration continues to spew anti-immigrant rhetoric.

"With your background, from a security viewpoint, do you believe we can invite students to come study in the United States in some of these critical areas [R&D] without compromising our national security?" Durbin asked.

Mr. Lyons responded, "I think there is a spectrum of opportunity that we have that goes from increasing the amount of research that is done on individuals coming into the country to an outright ban. I think the outright ban is something a bit off the table for now, and it should be, even during the Soviet Era, we were pro-immigration, and I think we should remain that way."

Video of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.

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