Two Republican senators are pressing major artificial intelligence companies to reveal how they guard against potential espionage from within their own ranks, targeting a vulnerability that extends beyond traditional hacking.
Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Jim Banks of Indiana sent identical letters to the chief executives of Amazon, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Safe Superintelligence Inc., Thinking Machines Lab and xAI, demanding detailed responses by May 20. The nine-question probe focuses on personnel vetting, insider threat detection, and the hiring of Chinese nationals with access to sensitive AI systems.
The lawmakers framed the inquiry as urgent national security business. "The Chinese Communist Party has an extensive track record of conducting espionage on U.S. companies in critical sectors," the senators wrote.
Amazon received particularly pointed scrutiny in its letter. Grassley and Banks asked CEO Andy Jassy how many Chinese nationals the company employs and, crucially, how many hold direct or indirect access to AI weights and related assets. They also requested a breakdown of how these numbers have shifted over time.
The questioning reflects a shift in how Congress views corporate security. Rather than fixating solely on external threats, lawmakers are now zeroing in on insider access as a potential weak point. The senators indicated they want to work with companies to identify gaps rather than simply demand compliance.
"What support or engagement from Congress or the U.S. government would be useful in securing AI technology, trade secrets, and research from the People's Republic of China?" the letter asked, signaling openness to collaborative solutions.
The push comes as U.S. intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that China is conducting "industrial-scale" efforts to extract American AI capabilities. Congress has ramped up its oversight activities, including classified briefings with leading AI firms, and lawmakers have engaged directly with companies like OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia on technology security.
The bipartisan concern underscores how AI has become a flashpoint in U.S.-China competition, with lawmakers viewing corporate safeguards as essential to protecting American technological advantage.
Author James Rodriguez: "This line of questioning tells you where lawmakers' real fears lie: it's not just about keeping code off the internet, it's about making sure the person sitting at the terminal isn't working for Beijing."
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