Congress is getting worried about Chinese robots.
The chair’s mark of the National Defense Authorization Act that the House Armed Services Committee will consider Thursday includes multiple provisions targeting robots. Members want the Pentagon to report to Congress on how it’s reducing its reliance on robotic systems made in China and by other U.S. competitors.
The proposed language would also expand acquisition security authority to include humanoid robots and unmanned vehicles. That in turn clears the way for further restrictions on the use of Chinese robots by the U.S. government.
It’s the latest sign of concern from Congress over the use of advanced foreign technology in critical infrastructure and a desire to ensure that adversaries can’t compromise or control U.S. supplies.
WALL-E world. Humanoid robots and other autonomous machines are the next frontier in advanced artificial intelligence, and tech companies are betting big on it.
While China has a history of producing consumer goods en masse and flooding global markets, lawmakers are worried that its rapid expansion into robots could present particular national security risks, as seen in other critical electronic equipment.
Just this year, the Federal Communications Commission moved to ban foreign routers and drones, which represent an ever-more important method of warfare and defense, from the American market.
The current House NDAA language falls short of some more ambitious proposals to go after Chinese and other adversaries’ robots.
A bill introduced in the Senate by Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and in the House by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), would fully ban the government from procuring robots and related tech from foreign companies of concern.
That bill could come back up during the NDAA amendment process.
