Opinion | US and China must get serious about AI risk
It would be irresponsible for Washington and Beijing to race ahead without engaging each other on the dangers – or the immense opportunities – AI presents
That may sound like diplomatic low-hanging fruit, since it would be hard to find a reasonable person willing to argue that we should hand control over nuclear weapons to AI. But with the Chinese government, there is no such thing as low-hanging fruit, especially on weighty security matters.
The Chinese are inherently sceptical of US risk reduction proposals. Russia had opposed similar language in multilateral bodies. Because bilateral talks with the US on AI and nuclear security would open daylight between Russia and China, progress on this front was not a foregone conclusion.
In the end, the result was significant because it demonstrated that two AI superpowers can engage in constructive risk management even as they compete vigorously for AI leadership.
Now, as the momentum behind AI development and deployment, both civil and military, gathers pace, the US and China need to build on this foundation by pursuing sustained, senior-level diplomacy on AI risks, even as each strives for the lead in the AI race.