China's ambassador to the United States has called for partnership between Washington and Beijing on artificial intelligence (AI) to help prevent a potentially disastrous outcome for mankind. The message comes in the wake of what Ambassador Xie Feng described as a "milestone" summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. The two men discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to the ties between the two superpowers.
Yet AI made conspicuously frequent appearances in official readouts, indicating an increased level of attention to a swiftly evolving technology that has elicited a growing chorus of warnings from experts about the dangers associated with lack of sufficient regulations. And with some prominent experts and industry leaders estimating a 10-20 percent chance of human extinction over the next decade due to unchecked AI advances, Xie said it was incumbent upon the world's two most powerful nations in the field to work together. "Facts have proven that open source and openness do not create insecurity; rather, technological decoupling, enclosure, and self-isolation are the real recipe for risk," Xie told Newsweek during an exclusive, wide-ranging written interview.
"We hope the U.S. side will work with China in the same direction, help each other succeed with an open mind, and live up to our shared responsibility through cooperation, so as to jointly ensure that rather than heralding the dusk of humanity, new technologies such as AI will usher in the dawn of a new era." Following the summit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released a readout that dedicated a specific section to remarks on AI from Xi and summarized Trump's position as well. Only the broader topics of strategic stability in relations and trade received the same level of prominence. "During this visit, President Xi Jinping pointed out that China and the U.S. have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good, and to ensure that the development of AI is always under human control and serves the well-being of the people," Xie said.
"We may have competition, but we may cooperate even more," he added. "The right thing to do is to draw on each other’s strengths, not guard against each other." AI was also mentioned in the White House readout, which stated that Trump and Xi agreed to instead use the term "super intelligence" (SI) in their discussions on the matter. The Trump administration also confirmed the establishment of a dialogue "to exchange views on risks and benefits related to SI." "I call it SI because it's a much better name," Trump said on Saturday, a day after Xi's departure.
"It's a much more accurate name because when you say the other, it means it's fake. Artificial means it's fake, and it's not fake. It's very strong intelligence." Trump also emphasized that the U.S.
"is not gonna be putting on brakes" for AI development through additional regulations. He compared predictions of the potential risks posed to humanity as a "hoax" not unlike climate change and allegations of Russian interference in his first election in 2016. "What they wanna do is they wanna stop our progress because we're leading China by a lot, and we're gonna keep it that way," Trump said, adding that he would "rather not integrate" with China.
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