U.S. Prepares China AI Talks as Former Envoy Warns 2024 Safety Agenda Was Deflected
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 16
U.S. Prepares China AI Talks as Former Envoy Warns 2024 Safety Agenda Was Deflected
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 16
Summary
U.S. officials are heading into a new AI dialogue with China under pressure to pursue safety cooperation, but a former State Department envoy says the talks are unlikely to deliver meaningful safeguards.
At the May 2024 meeting, he said Chinese officials steered hours of discussion away from advanced-AI risks, declined to explain domestic rules and instead criticized U.S. safety concerns as barriers to opportunity.
He expects China to again downplay safety risks in this month’s talks and potentially use the prospect of cooperation to seek concessions such as softer U.S. chip controls.
The warning underscores a broader U.S. concern that Beijing will frame itself as expanding AI access for developing countries while primarily using the dialogue to gain strategic advantage.