iFlytek, a Chinese AI company, was accused of using its tech for surveillance of a minority community in China.

MIT and iFlytek entered into a research collaboration in June 2018. The Chinese AI company-funded various research projects under the five-year agreement. These included human-computer interaction, new approaches to machine learning, and applied voice recognition. MIT terminated this arrangement in February and did not disclose the reasons. (WIRED)

However, the tie-up may have fallen foul of MIT’s new review process for ‘elevated-risk’ international proposals. “Most recently we have determined that engagements with certain countries – currently China, Russia and Saudi Arabia – merit additional faculty and administrative review beyond the usual evaluations that all international projects receive,” said Maria Zuber, VP of Research in a note to colleagues issued April 2019.

Human rights violations may also have compelled MIT to sever its arrangement with iFlytek.

Reuters on MIT, iFlytek and the Uighurs

Last June, Reuters reported that MIT and at least one other university had research partnerships with iFlytek.

Reuters further claimed that a subsidiary of iFlytek was the sole supplier of 25 “voiceprint” collection systems to police in Kashgar, a city in Xinjiang. Uighurs, a Muslim minority group, are kept under tight surveillance, including in “reeducation camps,” in Xinjiang, said Reuters.

China’s widespread crackdown on Uighurs in the Xinjiang region has drawn global protests.

US government action

In October 2019, the US government blacklisted Chinese AI organizations including some leading startups. The action targeted the firms for reportedly supplying technology used to oppress minority Uighurs in Xinjiang.

Conflicting views

According to Zuber, some of the best talent in the world comes from China. “The wrong thing to do is say we’re never going to work with these international entities under any circumstances and we’re just going to lock our doors.”

Zulkayda Mamat, a graduate student of Uighur descent, said MIT should continue its process of re-evaluating projects. A lack of vigilance could put MIT “on the wrong side of history,” she warns.

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