A U.S. government website briefly used Alibaba’s Qwen AI model to help users search proposed federal regulations, despite recent FBI allegations that Alibaba copied technology from U.S. AI company Anthropic.
The AI-powered search feature appeared on the Federal Register, operated by the U.S. National Archives, alongside other search options. Reuters reported that the Qwen-powered tool was removed on September 16 after social media posts drew attention to its use.
The FBI and other U.S. agencies recently accused several Chinese AI companies, including Alibaba, of conducting large-scale “distillation” of American AI models. China has rejected the allegations, calling them unfounded.
Experts said the Federal Register deployment did not appear to create an immediate national-security risk because the website primarily handles public information. However, the episode has raised questions about the U.S. government’s use of Chinese AI technology amid growing tensions over AI security and technological competition.
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