Ex-Google engineer's conviction of stealing AI secrets partly overturned
What's the story
A US federal judge has overturned part of the conviction of Linwei Ding, a former Google engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence (AI) trade secrets from the tech giant. The decision was made by US District Judge Vince Chhabria, who ruled that prosecutors failed to provide enough evidence that Ding intended to benefit the Chinese government.
Conviction details
Separate charges related to trade secrets remain intact
The judge's ruling specifically affects seven counts of economic espionage that were part of Ding's earlier conviction.
However, Judge Chhabria confirmed there was enough evidence to support separate charges related to the theft of trade secrets, which remain intact.
Each trade secret charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
Legal proceedings
Ding was found guilty in January after an 11-day trial
Ding, a Chinese national also known as Leon Ding, was found guilty in January after an 11-day trial.
His legal team challenged the verdict shortly after the trial, arguing that the US Department of Justice had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case revolves around sensitive AI technology developed by Google.
Theft details
Stolen data included Google's hardware infrastructure and software systems
Prosecutors alleged that Ding copied thousands of pages of confidential Google information before leaving the company.
The stolen data reportedly included information about Google's hardware infrastructure and software systems used for training large AI models.
It also included advanced chip designs that could help Google compete with cloud computing rivals such as Amazon and Microsoft.
Employment timeline
Ding faces serious penalties as charges remain valid
Ding joined Google in 2019 and allegedly started stealing confidential information three years later, while being recruited by a Chinese tech start-up.
The judge overturned the economic espionage convictions, but Ding still faces serious penalties as the trade secret theft charges remain valid.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1.