The White House has outlined plans to work more closely with American artificial intelligence companies to address what officials describe as large-scale efforts by foreign actors to extract and replicate U.S. AI technology.
Memo Details And Allegations
Michael Kratsios stated in an internal memo that new information indicates foreign entities, primarily based in China, are exploiting U.S. firms. He said these efforts involve a process known as distillation, where actors attempt to replicate AI systems by extracting knowledge from existing models.
Kratsios wrote that such activities aim to undermine U.S. research and development while gaining access to proprietary information.
Planned Measures And Coordination
The administration outlined four areas of action in response. These include sharing intelligence with AI companies about tactics and actors involved in distillation campaigns, improving coordination between government and industry, developing best practices to detect and respond to such activities, and exploring ways to hold foreign actors accountable.
The memo did not specify enforcement measures or identify particular entities involved.
China Response And Position
A representative of China’s embassy in Washington, D.C., responded by criticizing what it described as unjustified restrictions on Chinese companies. The spokesperson stated that China’s technological progress is driven by domestic effort and international cooperation.
How Distillation Campaigns Operate
Distillation campaigns typically involve operating large numbers of user accounts on AI platforms to appear as regular users. These accounts attempt to bypass safeguards or extract non-public information from AI systems. The collected data is then used to support the development and training of separate AI models.
Kratsios said that as detection methods improve, models built using such approaches may face reliability and integrity concerns.
Industry Reports And Named Companies
While the memo did not name specific organizations, companies including OpenAI and Anthropic have reported encountering similar activity. Earlier this year, Anthropic identified three AI labs — DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax — as conducting distillation efforts involving its models. All three companies are based in China.
OpenAI has also accused DeepSeek of copying its technology. The companies named did not respond to requests for comment.
Context On DeepSeek And Market Activity
DeepSeek released its AI model last year and saw rapid adoption, becoming widely used among consumers. The company stated that development costs were only a few million dollars, significantly lower than the larger investments made by other AI firms.
The DeepSeek chatbot experienced a major outage last month and is expected to release an updated model soon.
Upcoming Diplomatic Context
Donald Trump is expected to visit China in May, placing the issue of AI development and technology competition within a broader diplomatic context.
Featured image credits: Flickr
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