MIT Reviews Partnerships With Blacklisted Chinese Tech Firms
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is reviewing relationships with Chinese artificial intelligence companies hit with a U.S. export ban.
The U.S. Commerce Department this week blacklisted 28 Chinese organizations, including AI firms SenseTime and iFlytek which have research partnerships with MIT.
The Trump administration says the organizations have been implicated in the repression of China's Muslim minority.
MIT spokeswoman Kimberly Allen says the university pays careful attention to export controls and will modify its interactions with the companies as necessary.
The MIT-SenseTime Alliance on Artificial Intelligence funds multiple research projects. Voice recognition company iFlytek last year announced a 5-year partnership with MIT's AI researchers.
SenseTime spokeswoman June Jin says its partnerships are driven by the spirit of learning. She says SenseTime is misunderstood and "deeply disappointed" by the U.S. action.
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