US, China Researchers Explore AI Safety Cooperation as Hacking Risks Rise With 2 AI Powers
Updated
Updated · WIRED · Aug 27
US, China Researchers Explore AI Safety Cooperation as Hacking Risks Rise With 2 AI Powers
3 articles · Updated · WIRED · Aug 27
Summary
Researchers in the US and China are pushing for AI safety cooperation as more capable AI agents raise fears of hacking sprees, self-replication and other cross-border failures.
Cybersecurity has become the main driver: experts in Beijing and Shanghai said agentic safety is now a major focus, with concern centered on models that could attack networks, evade controls or trigger wider systemic incidents.
Possible cooperation ranges from shared technical benchmarks to crisis communication channels, so Washington and Beijing could quickly signal when an aggressive AI action is a mistake rather than an attack.
Those efforts still face export controls, mistrust and limits on direct collaboration, even as Chinese researchers say they want US companies and academics involved in testing model hacking capabilities.
The debate cuts against the usual zero-sum AI race narrative, with researchers in both countries warning that a financial flash crash or AI-driven cyberattack could become a 'Chernobyl moment' neither side can contain alone.