Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, Lyman outlined how adversaries utilize a mix of state media, bot networks, and domestic organizations to manipulate public opinion. His research, titled "Foreign Influence in the Campaign Against American AI," identifies the Party for Socialism and Liberation and nonprofits tied to Shanghai-based activist Neville Roy Singham as key actors in these efforts. These groups allegedly leveraged local opposition to secure ten data center moratoria and one permanent ban.
China-Linked Campaigns Sabotaged $23.6 Billion in US AI Infrastructure
Sam Lyman, head of research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, told a House subcommittee that coordinated foreign influence campaigns successfully stalled or blocked $23.6 billion in American AI projects. His testimony detailed how 21 operations across 14 states exploited local activist networks to sabotage critical data center infrastructure development.
Lyman, a former adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, emphasized that while foreign actors are weaponizing these campaigns, they often latch onto authentic local anxieties regarding infrastructure. "China is pulling all the levers of state to win" the global race for AI supremacy, he stated. Federal investigators in the Southern District of New York are currently examining whether Singham’s network violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act or falsified tax filings. While the organizations involved deny receiving direction or funding from the Chinese government, the scale of the disruption remains a focal point for national security policymakers.
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