As concerns grow that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) could threaten humanity, the leaders of the United States and China are focusing on securing AI dominance.
On September 13, President Trump dismissed warnings that AI could pose a threat to humanity during a visit to his golf course in Dunbeg, Ireland. He stated, "The side that wins the AI competition will ultimately have everything," and claimed that negative forces are highlighting issues that are unlikely to occur.
Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping avoided directly addressing warnings about AI potentially leading to human extinction. Instead, he is concentrating on expanding China's influence in AI, particularly among developing countries. At the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi, Xi emphasized the need for Asian, African, and South American nations to accelerate the establishment of global AI governance standards.
He also called for a human-centered approach to developing beneficial AI and urged the swift establishment of a consensus-based global AI governance framework. Xi announced that China would lead the 'BRICS Open Source AI Community' to support the development of large language models (LLMs) and foster a collaborative ecosystem.
Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet at the White House on September 24, raising questions about whether they will discuss the competition and safety issues surrounding AI.
Experts warn that if the AI competition between the U.S. and China heats up, there may be missed opportunities to control reckless development and its side effects. The pressure to release AI models quickly to avoid falling behind could lead to insufficient safety evaluations.
As AI is increasingly recognized as a key element of national security beyond just an industrial tool, the risks of reckless AI development in defense and intelligence sectors are also growing.
This AI development race has been compared to the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, with implications for humanity's survival.
Recently, leaders of major AI companies have also raised concerns about the need to manage the pace of development. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, have urged the U.S. and Chinese governments to collaborate on regulating the speed of advanced AI model development.
In an interview with Fortune, Altman suggested that if Trump and Xi could agree on joint rules for the safe development of AI, they would deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. Amodei echoed this sentiment in a CBS News interview, stating, "The U.S. needs to engage in dialogue and cooperation with China to set speed limits on the advancement of this technology."
Concerns about the AI development race are also being voiced within major AI companies. Last week, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned, criticizing OpenAI and Anthropic for failing to take responsibility and "gambling with humanity's future."
As the U.S.-China summit approaches, attention is focused on how the two leaders will balance the competition for AI leadership with the need for safety measures.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.