Chinese researchers repurpose Meta’s Llama model for military intelligence applications

• Chinese researchers adapt Meta’s Llama model for military intelligence use
• ChatBIT showcases risks of open-source AI technology
• Meta distances itself from unauthorized military applications of Llama

Meta’s Llama AI model is open source and freely available for use, but the company’s licensing terms clearly state the model is intended solely for non-military applications.

However there have been concerns about how open source tech can be checked to ensure that it is not used for the wrong purposes and the latest speculations validate these concerns, as recent reports claim Chinese researchers with links to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have created a military-focused AI model called ChatBIT using Llama

The emergence of ChatBIT highlights the potential and challenges of open source technology in a world where access to advanced AI is increasingly viewed as a national security issue.

A Chinese AI model for military intelligence

A recent study by six Chinese researchers from three institutions, including two connected to the People’s Liberation Army’s Academy of Military Science (AMS), describes the development of ChatBIT, created using an early version of Meta’s Llama model.

By integrating their parameters into the Llama 2 13B large language model, the researchers aimed to produce a military-focused AI tool. Subsequent follow-up academic papers outline how ChatBIT has been adapted to process military-specific dialogues and aid operational decisions, aiming to perform at around 90% of GPT-4’s capacity. However, it remains unclear how these performance metrics were calculated, as no detailed testing procedures or field applications have been disclosed.

Analysts familiar with Chinese AI and military research have reportedly reviewed these documents and supported the claims about ChatBIT’s development and functionality. They assert that ChatBIT’s reported performance metrics align with experimental AI applications but note that the lack of clear benchmarking methods or accessible datasets makes it challenging to confirm the claims.

Furthermore, an investigation by Reuters provides another layer of support, citing sources and analysts who have reviewed materials linking PLA-affiliated researchers to ChatBIT’s development. The investigation states that these documents and interviews reveal attempts by China’s military to repurpose Meta’s open-source model for intelligence and strategy tasks, making it the first publicized instance of a national military adapting Llama’s language model for defense purposes.

The use of open-source AI for military purposes has reignited the debate on the potential security risks associated with publicly available technology. Meta, like other tech companies, has licensed Llama with clear restrictions against its use in military applications. However, as with many open-source projects, enforcing such restrictions is practically impossible. Once the source code is available, it can be modified and…