ChinAI Pod #3: The Worldwide Web of Chinese and Russian Information Controls with Valentin Weber

Welcome to the third episode of the ChinAI podcast, hosted by Jeff Ding.Our guest today is Valentin Weber, a DPhil Candidate in Cyber Security at the Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security, University of Oxford. He joins the ChinAI Pod to discuss his latest report, “The Worldwide Web of Chinese and Russian Information Controls,” supported by the Open Technology Fund. It presents a typology of information controls (ranging from propaganda to surveillance), compares Chinese and Russian models of information control, and analyzes the possible causes and impacts of the expanding reach of Chinese and Russian information controls. Valentin’s findings are based on his own meticulous sourcing as well as his painstaking synthesis of secondary sources, documenting the diffusion of Chinese and Russian information controls to over 100 countries over the course of thirteen years. More broadly, Valentin is interested in how the cyber domain is changing conflicts and state strategies. His current research focuses on the integration of cyber and grand strategy, as well as on the role of information controls in state strategies. He previously worked for the International Security Department at Chatham House. TimestampsBriefing Checklist (0:43)Debate the Guest (16:00)Footnote Fever (42:40)Trust the Process (51:45)Get full access to ChinAI Newsletter at chinai.substack.com/subscribe

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Narrations of the ChinAI Newsletter by Jeffrey Ding. China is becoming an indispensable part of the global AI landscape. Alongside the rise of China’s AI capabilities, a surge of Chinese writing and scholarship on AI-related topics is shedding light on a range of fascinating topics, including: China’s grand strategy for advanced technology like AI, the characteristics of key Chinese AI actors (e.g. companies and individual thinkers), and the ethical implications of AI development. While traditional media and China specialists can provide important insights on these questions through on-the-ground reporting and extensive background knowledge, ChinAI takes a different approach: it bets on the proposition that for many of these issues, the people with the most knowledge and insight are Chinese people themselves who are sharing their insights in Chinese. Through translating articles and documents from government departments, think tanks, traditional media, and newer forms of “self-media,” etc., ChinAI provides a unique look into the intersection between a country that is changing the world and a technology that is doing the same.