US, China To Discuss AI Risks In Geneva: Will Washington's Policies Be Up For Negotiation?

The United States and China are set to meet in Geneva to discuss the potential risks of advanced artificial intelligence. The U.S. officials have made it clear that their policies will not be open for negotiation during the talks.

What Happened: The U.S. and China are scheduled to hold discussions in Geneva on Tuesday, focusing on the risks associated with advanced AI, Reuters reported. The talks will explore ways to mitigate the potential dangers of this emerging technology.

The Biden administration has been actively seeking to engage China on various issues to minimize misunderstandings between the two countries. The talks on AI were initiated following a discussion between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in April.

“This is the first meeting of its kind. So, we expect to have a discussion of the full range of risks, but wouldn’t prejudge any specifics at this point,” a senior administration official said, according to the report.

“We certainly don’t see eye to eye … on many AI topics and applications, but we believe that communication on critical AI risks can make the world safer,” the second official added.

The U.S. State Department has been urging China and Russia to align with U.S. declarations, emphasizing that only humans, and not AI, should be responsible for decisions regarding the deployment of nuclear weapons.

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Despite the talks, the U.S. has made it clear that its technology protection policies are not up for negotiation. The discussions will provide an opportunity for the U.S. to directly communicate its concerns about China’s rapid deployment of AI capabilities across civilian, military, and national security sectors.

Tarun Chhabra from the U.S. National Security Council and Seth Center, acting as the State Department’s special envoy for critical and emerging technology, will spearhead discussions with representatives from China’s Foreign Ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission, the state planner.

Why It Matters: The U.S. has been taking several measures to safeguard its AI technology from China. The Biden administration is reportedly considering new regulations to limit China’s access to advanced AI models, such as those used in ChatGPT.

Despite the U.S. efforts to restrict the export of AI models and chips to China, Chinese entities have managed to acquire high-end Nvidia chips through third-party vendors, despite the U.S. imposing a ban on such technology. This has raised concerns about the potential exploitation of U.S. AI models for aggressive cyber attacks or the creation of potent biological weapons by U.S. adversaries.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has also expressed his belief that the U.S. is significantly ahead of China in AI. Schmidt stated that the U.S. is “way ahead of China” in AI, which he considers an “eternity” in the field of AI.

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