Washington and Beijing discuss ways to handle AI emergencies while continuing to compete for leadership in chips and advanced systems
Artificial intelligence is taking on a larger role in relations between the United States and China as the world’s two largest economies also compete for leadership in the development of the technology.
During discussions in Washington this week, a proposal emerged to establish a communication mechanism between the two countries for serious incidents involving artificial intelligence.
The idea would be to create a way for the two governments to communicate quickly if an incident involving advanced AI systems creates national security risks or consequences that could affect both countries.
An emergency channel for AI
The proposal has been compared with communication mechanisms established between major powers during the Cold War.
The goal would be to prevent a technological problem from quickly escalating into a political or military crisis.
Among the possibilities under discussion are notification mechanisms for serious incidents involving artificial intelligence systems.
Details about how such a channel would operate have not yet been finalized.
At the same time, the competition continues
The security dialogue comes as the United States and China continue competing for technological leadership.
The rivalry includes artificial intelligence, semiconductors, computing capacity and access to the world’s most advanced chips.
The United States has imposed restrictions on exports of certain technologies to China, while Beijing is accelerating investment aimed at reducing its dependence on foreign suppliers.
China is also seeking to expand the use of artificial intelligence across different sectors of its economy and society.
Security and competition move forward together
Despite their technological rivalry, officials in both countries recognize that certain risks involving advanced systems could cross national borders.
A major failure, cyberattack or unexpected use of an artificial intelligence system could have consequences beyond the country where the incident began.
As a result, discussions about AI safety are beginning to develop alongside the race to build increasingly powerful systems.
Sources: Reuters and Axios.
