Chinese firm sought to use UK university links to access AI for possible military use

A Chinese state-owned company sought to use a partnership with a leading British university in order to access AI technology for potential use in "smart military bases", the Guardian has learned. Emails show that China's Jiangsu Automation Research Institute (Jari) discussed deploying software developed by scientists at Imperial College London for military use. The company, which is the leading designer of China's drone warships, shared this objective with two Imperial employees before signing a £3m deal with the university in 2019. Ministers have spent the past year stepping up warnings about the potential security risk posed by academic collaborations with…