As delegates from around the world and leaders from the tech industry gathered in the U.K. for the first-ever AI Safety Summit, there appeared to be harmony between officials of historical rivals China and the U.S. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Wu Zhaohui shared a stage at the opening plenary of the U.K. AI Safety Summit.
The U.S. and China were among the 29 countries that signed the Bletchley Declaration later that day. This declaration affirmed the risks posed by AI and committed to international cooperation in identifying and mitigating those risks. It marked a crucial initial step towards establishing future regulations in the field. However, beneath these shows of cooperation, there is an undercurrent of increasing tension between the two AI superpowers.
Tech supremacy has been a significant point of contention between the U.S. and China in recent years. China announced its New Generation AI Development Plan in 2017, following an impressive breakthrough in artificial intelligence by Google Deepmind. This plan set ambitious milestones for China to achieve “major breakthroughs” by 2025 and become a global leader in AI by 2030.
The launch of AI chatbot ChatGPT, nearly a year ago, has further intensified the global focus on AI technology. Concern in Washington that China could surpass the U.S. in AI development has led to restrictions on Chinese access to U.S. technology that could aid its progress. In response, China’s foreign ministry accused the U.S. of violating competition principles and market economy.
While the U.K. AI Safety Summit was seen as a small step towards joint action, experts voiced concerns that tensions between the U.S. and China could hinder the establishment of crucial global regulations in the future. China’s involvement in the Summit was not guaranteed, and its inclusion highlighted China’s significant role in developing frontier AI models, alongside the U.S.
China is becoming a leading player in AI surveillance technologies, specializing in cutting-edge research on computer vision, audio processing, and robotics. However, similar to their Western counterparts, some Chinese academics and politicians are expressing increasing concern about the potential dangers associated with such powerful technology.
The unexpected call for tighter regulation of advanced artificial intelligence by Chinese academics, including renowned computer scientist Andrew Yao, has surprised observers. This move, alongside China’s participation in AI safety discussions, indicates that Chinese officials may be genuinely worried about the risks posed by advanced AI or that Beijing sees some benefit in engaging in discussions to buy time for its own AI development.
At the U.K. AI Safety Summit, hints of emerging tensions between the U.S. and China were noted in Vice Minister Zhaohui’s remarks. Defending the open release of AI models, which benefits China, Zhaohui indirectly addressed concerns among some in the West who are moving away from such open-release policies due to concerns about possible misuse of powerful AI models. Zhaohui also emphasized that “all nations have the right to develop and use artificial intelligence technology,” indirectly alluding to the U.S. chip export restrictions.
Cooperation between the U.S. and China on AI development seems unlikely given the ongoing tensions. While narrow cooperation on shared issues may prove difficult, some experts argue that the U.S. and China can still cooperate on common interests, drawing a parallel with the U.S.-Soviet Union agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
However, skepticism remains about China’s willingness to genuinely cooperate on AI safety, with concerns that China often subordinates such common interest issues to its broader geopolitical maneuvering. The current U.S. strategy of export restrictions and coordination with smaller, allied countries through forums like the G7 may not be successful in the long term.
While the U.S.-China relations may not have been transformed by the AI Safety Summit, future Summits can serve as useful forums for international cooperation in complementing the G7 and bilateral talks between the two countries. With the next Summits planned in South Korea and France, it is hoped that these gatherings will help foster dialogue, cooperation, and potentially establish global regulations in the field of AI.
The tensions and competition between the U.S. and China in the AI sector are becoming more pronounced. Nonetheless, the first AI Safety Summit marked a significant step towards international cooperation, even if challenges and disagreements remain. Continued dialogue and engagement between these two AI superpowers are crucial for the development of responsible AI technologies and the establishment of global regulations.
Market Capital Research 