China's AI advances help its technology industry, and state security

As China tests the frontiers of artificial intelligence, iFlyTek serves as a compelling example of both the country's sci-fi ambitions and the technology's darker dystopian possibilities

During President Trump’s visit to Beijing, he appeared on screen for a special address at a tech conference.

First he spoke in English. Then he switched to Mandarin Chinese.

Trump doesn’t speak Chinese. The video was a publicity stunt, designed to show off the voice capabilities of iFlyTek, a Chinese artificial intelligence company with both innovative technology and troubling ties to Chinese state security. IFlyTek has said its technology can monitor a car full of people or a crowded room, identify a targeted individual’s voice and record everything that person says. “IFlyTek,” the image of Trump said in Chinese, “is