Jensen Huang's stunning resignation from Nvidia is filling headlines and roiling Wall Street this week.
asserted
resignation → fill → Street
From one angle, the storm circling around Huang is the result of yet another uberwealthy tech titan straying from his marriage.
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storm → circle → marriage
It is also a warning that America's enemies are determined to infiltrate all levels of our society to subvert it.
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enemies → infiltrate → it
This country needs more defenses against foreign espionage.
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country → need → espionage
Most Americans think of espionage as the theft of government secrets: The announcement this week that an American soldier was arrested at the headquarters of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in England for spying for the Russians is troubling, but unsurprising.
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soldier → think → Russians
That is not why the government investigated Alice Huang.
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government → investigate → Huang
The U.S. intelligence community concluded the Chinese businesswoman, who was one of Jensen Huang's several mistresses, ultimately works for China's spy agency, the Ministry of State Security.
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who → conclude → Security
Her mission was not necessarily to acquire closely guarded information about how Nvidia designs its cutting-edge chips, but to get the chips themselves.
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Nvidia → acquire → chips
Her company, Megaspeed, bought $4 billion of Nvidia's chips.
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company → buy → chips
Megaspeed's major client was the Chinese tech giant Alibaba, but since a Commerce Department investigator spotted some of those chips still in their boxes during a visit to Megaspeed in 2024, it is not clear where they are now.
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they → spot → 2024
Many fear that Ms. Huang skirted or outright violated American export controls to feed Chinese artificial intelligence companies.
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Huang → fear → companies
Despite these murky practices, the Commerce Department has been slow to act.
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Department → act → practices
Reportedly, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is responsible for the export controls that aim to prevent adversaries from accessing cutting-edge U.S. technologies, recently came under fire in the Situation Room for his dilatory treatment of Megaspeed's infractions.
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that → aim → infractions
Mr. Huang is not a federal employee, but he plays an important role in American life.
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he → play → life
He grew his company into one of the world's largest by designing many of the chips on which AI companies rely.
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companies → grow → which
He is also one of the most prominent commentators on artificial intelligence and its implications for society, and he advises President Trump on a range of technological issues.
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he → advise → issues
Because his voice is so important, getting his ear is too.
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getting → get → ear
Mr. Huang had become increasingly critical of export controls on China, and his infidelity raises troubling questions about his motivations for doing so.
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infidelity → become → motivations
Ms. Huang probably did not turn the tech mogul into a dove, but rather encouraged him to go beyond where he might have otherwise gone.
uncertain
he → turn → him
The result, allegedly, is that China is much further along on its quest to overtake America's technological advantage in AI.
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China → overtake → AI
Those charges, if substantiated, reveal just one of the many plays the Chinese Communist Party is running to weaken American and allied societies from within.
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Party → substantiate → within
The CCP has an entire department dedicated to doing just that.
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CCP → have → that
The United Front Work Department was founded during World War II, but it has a longer pedigree.
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it → found → pedigree
During the 1920s, communists infiltrated the Chinese nationalist military academy and won the loyalty of many Chinese military leaders.
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communists → infiltrate → leaders
Some of these recruits stayed dormant for decades until they became generals and then switched allegiance during China's civil war.
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they → stay → war
Sometimes the goal is to acquire trade secrets, but often it is to influence other countries' policies.
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it → acquire → policies
That can involve anything from propaganda work to setting up fake companies or seducing elites.
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That → involve → elites
A former New York state official was indicted for shaping New York policies to China's benefit.
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official → indict → benefit
Earlier this year, the mayor of Arcadia, California, was arrested on similar charges.
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mayor → arrest → charges
One security consultant estimated there are roughly 1,000 spies around Silicon Valley.
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consultant → estimate → Valley
China is not the only U.S. adversary that uses these tactics.
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that → use → tactics
Back in 2010, the government identified 10 Russian spies hanging out in New York.
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government → identify → York
During the first Trump administration, Maria Butina was convicted of trying to influence American political organizations.
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Butina → convict → organizations
Espionage is one of the oldest professions—Moses is one of the earliest recorded spymasters—and any society as open as the United States is unusually vulnerable to this kind of skullduggery.
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society → record → skullduggery
As long as Americans trade with countries that flout the rule of law, moreover, our businessmen will rub shoulders with quasi-legitimate fixers, many of whom have ties to security services.
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many → trade → services
Some House Democrats, however, want to close or hobble the select committee on China once they assume the majority.
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they → want → majority
Long before Alice Huang made headlines, the select committee proposed legislation that would short-circuit China's chip smuggling.
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that → make → smuggling
Since the CCP is conducting nefarious activities on American soil as well as abroad, no other committee has sufficient jurisdiction to combat it.
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committee → conduct → it
Preventing similar catastrophes is vital for America's wellbeing.
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Preventing → prevent → wellbeing
The Aporia
