US Companies Including OpenAI Discuss Response with Chinese Experts
Two Meetings Held in Geneva Last Year
Growing Concern Over AI's Potential Risks
Cooperation to Establish Safety Measures
It was recently revealed that American artificial intelligence (AI) companies, including OpenAI, the developer of 'ChatGPT,' held AI safety meetings last year with Chinese AI experts. Although the United States and China are engaged in a hegemonic competition over advanced technologies such as AI and semiconductors, rising international concerns about the potential risks of AI are interpreted as a move to cooperate in establishing AI guardrails (safety measures).
According to major foreign media on the 11th (local time), American AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere met with Chinese AI experts in Geneva, Switzerland, in July and October last year to share concerns about the misuse of AI technology and its societal threats and to discuss countermeasures.
On the American side, AI companies participated, while on the Chinese side, experts from Tsinghua University and institutions supported by the Chinese government took part. Chinese AI companies such as ByteDance, Tencent, and Baidu did not participate. The talks were led by the Shaik Group, a mediation organization specializing in conflict regions such as the Middle East.
It is reported that American AI companies and Chinese experts broadly discussed issues ranging from the rapidly advancing risks of AI technology to expanding investments in AI safety research. They also exchanged more detailed opinions on policy proposals discussed at the first AI meeting at the United Nations (UN) Security Council held in July last year and the UK AI Safety Summit held in November. The ultimate goal, according to attendees, was to find scientific methods to safely develop more sophisticated AI technologies.
One participant emphasized, "There is no way to establish international standards for AI safety without the agreement of these (U.S. and China) groups. If they agree, it will be much easier to expand the talks to other participants."
This meeting attracted particular attention as it was held amid accelerating competition between the United States and China in advanced technology fields such as AI, semiconductors, and quantum computing. The U.S. is strengthening its technology blockade against China, including banning Nvidia's AI semiconductor exports to China. However, growing concerns about AI safety have led to a consensus that cooperation between the two AI powerhouses is essential. It is also reported that the governments of the U.S., China, and the UK were all fully aware of this meeting in advance.
China's participation is especially crucial for the international community's joint response to AI safety. Accordingly, the UK invited China to the AI Safety Summit held in November last year, despite initial controversy over whether to invite China due to technological competition with the U.S. Earlier, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, also stated regarding AI safety discussions, "If China does not participate, it is meaningless," adding, "If China does not commit to AI safety, it will take the lead in AI development and surpass us all." He emphasized that the leading AI countries?the U.S., UK, and China?must cooperate for AI safety.
Chinese experts are also emphasizing the necessity of international cooperation on AI safety. Chinese scientists collaborating with Western academia on AI research issued a statement last November warning that advanced AI could pose an "existential risk" to humanity over the coming decades and called for strict control of AI technology. Renowned Chinese computer scientist Andrew Yao and others joined in issuing the statement. The statement included calls for establishing international regulatory bodies, mandatory registration and supervision of advanced AI systems, and allocating 30% of research budgets to AI safety.
One foreign media outlet evaluated, "U.S. companies and Chinese experts held secret talks on AI safety," calling it "a rare cooperation amid the hegemonic competition between the two superpowers in advanced technology fields."
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