Overview

• A former Google engineer, Linwei Ding, has been charged with stealing AI technology from Google and secretly working with two Chinese companies.
• Ding, a Chinese national, was arrested in California and faces four counts of trade secret theft, each carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
• The stolen AI technology includes detailed information about Google's supercomputing data centers, crucial for training and hosting large AI models.
• Ding allegedly began uploading confidential Google files to a personal cloud account in May 2022, continuing for nearly a year.
• Authorities warn that the theft of such innovative technology and trade secrets can have devastating economic and national security consequences.