The U.S. government is concerned about China’s use of artificial intelligence to repress its population, spread misinformation and undermine the security of the United States and its allies, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday.

Sullivan told an event at the National Defense University that a new U.S. directive on AI was intended in part to help address those concerns, and to help offer alternatives to developing economies and other partners around the world.

“We know that China is building its own technological ecosystem with digital infrastructure that won’t protect sensitive data, that can enable mass surveillance and censorship, that can spread misinformation and that can make countries vulnerable to coercion,” he said.

Source: Reuters reported by Andrea Shalal and Susan Heavey