The New York Times (October 23) reported that the Trump Administration is divided over which technologies can be shared with China. It said the Bureau of Industry and Security, a division in the US Commerce Department, has been working to identify emerging technologies that, if shared, could pose a security threat to the United States. The restrictions aim to head off new security threats. For instance, 3-D printers could create weapons on the battlefield, making it unnecessary to ship arms. Artificial intelligence can decode encryptions that previously could not be cracked. Robots could provide surveillance from space, while organelles could build tissue for soldiers injured in war. Companies like Google, General Motors, Microsoft, Toyota and Raytheon have urged the government to tailor its controls as narrowly as possible to avoid disrupting their ability to compete around the globe. In letters submitted in January, companies contended that many emerging technologies, like machine learning and quantum computing, were already well established in companies and research universities abroad and that tight restrictions could ultimately jeopardize American technological development and national security.
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