The United States on Dec. 10 put a ban on American investment in Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm SenseTime over concerns it’s aiding the Chinese regime’s repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The 7-year-old firm, one of the world’s highest-valued AI startups and leading developer of facial-recognition technology, was placed in the U.S. list of “Chinese military-industrial complex companies,” overshadowing the company’s plans to land Hong Kong initial public offering this month, where it aims to raise $767 million. The U.S. measure forces American investors to divest within 60 days of the announcement. The Treasury Department found SenseTime responsible for developing facial recognition programs that can determine a target’s ethnicity, “with a particular focus on identifying ethnic Uyghurs.” Shenzhen Sensetime Technology Co. Ltd., SenseTime’s wholly-owned subsidiary, has highlighted its ability to recognize Uyghurs with or without sunglasses, beards, or masks, the Department said. The move on Friday was among a suite …