Just after the largest online food delivery platform in the United States announced the testing of a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) model, several US lawmakers couldn't help but step forward to demand an explanation from the company.
This food delivery giant is named DoorDash, and it was founded by Chinese-Americans. In early July, one of its co-founders, Andy Fang, stated on social media that the company, based in San Francisco, has incorporated the Kimi K2.6 model from “The Dark Side of the Moon” into its artificial intelligence code review system. The performance of this model is better than that of models developed by American companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.
This move was quite significant, and soon attracted the attention of the American political landscape.
According to a report by Nanyang Post on August 1st, John Moolenaar, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on China Issues, and Andrew Garbarino, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to Tony Xu, co-founder and CEO of DoorDash, on Friday. The letter requested that the company provide details about every Chinese artificial intelligence model it uses, as well as all safety tests conducted on these models, by August 14th.
The letter also requires that employees at DoorDash responsible for “artificial intelligence infrastructure, software security, model evaluation, procurement, and legal or compliance reviews” hold a on-site briefing with the lawmakers by August 21.
The core concern of both parties is naturally the so-called national security issues. The letter states that even if Chinese open-source models are cheaper and more efficient, “it cannot eliminate the necessity for risk-based security measures, nor can it reduce external concerns about national security arising from reliance on models developed by entities under Chinese jurisdiction.”
Regarding the letter from the member of parliament, a DoorDash spokesperson said: “DoorDash firmly supports the United States in maintaining its leading position in the field of artificial intelligence, and is committed to ensuring that artificial intelligence benefits the American economy, not just the largest companies.”
American critics are concerned that Chinese artificial intelligence models may have "back doors" and "sleeper agents," posing risks to national security. However, there is currently no evidence to suggest that these issues are widespread.
The British magazine "The Economist" also described China's offer of open-source models as a "trap," and the world embracing China as "high-risk."
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that China opposes the use of ideology as a dividing line and technological blockades. China is committed to balancing development with security. It is willing to share experiences with all parties and enhance the level of global artificial intelligence innovation and development.
It is worth noting that even the White House has used DoorDash for delivery services.
According to a report by CBS on April 13, during a live television broadcast, President Trump welcomed Sharon Simmons, a DoorDash delivery worker, to the White House.
Afterwards, White House officials stated that the president delivered food to the staff in the West Wing, and “they really liked cheeseburgers and fries”.
