US expresses worries to Chinese officials over the abuse of AI

During bilateral discussions, representatives of the United States voice worries on China’s possible “misuse” of artificial intelligence (AI), placing emphasis on risk management and responsible competition.

As the superpowers try to avoid conflict over the rapidly advancing technology, U.S. officials expressed concerns about China’s “misuse” of artificial intelligence in their first formal bilateral talks on the subject, the White House said on Wednesday.

The U.S. team emphasised to their Chinese colleagues during the sessions in Geneva on Tuesday the importance of “maintaining open lines of communication on AI risk and safety as an important part of responsibly managing competition,” according to the White House.

Spokesman for the White House National Security Council Adrienne Watson continued, “The United States also raised concerns over the misuse of AI, including by (the People’s Republic of China)”.

Concerns over China’s access to AI technology are growing among U.S. officials due to worries that Beijing may use it to launch cyberattacks, produce bioweapons, and sway elections in other nations.

China and Russia have previously been pressured by the State Department to follow suit with the United States’ assertions that human decision-makers alone, not robots, would decide whether to use nuclear weapons.

According to sources cited by Reuters earlier this month, President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing to launch a new front in its defence of American artificial intelligence (AI) against China and Russia. These plans involve erecting barriers around the most sophisticated AI models, which serve as the foundation for ChatGPT and other AI systems.

A bill that would facilitate the Biden administration’s ability to put export restrictions on AI models was proposed last week by a bipartisan group of US congressmen. As they discuss additional legal safeguards, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, asked for an increase in government financing for artificial intelligence research on Wednesday.