In the first AI dialogue, the US calls China’s ‘misuse’ of AI, while Beijing protests Washington’s restrictions

GENEVA (AP) — U.S. officials expressed concern about China’s “misuse of AI” while Beijing’s representatives chided Washington over “restrictions and pressure” on artificial intelligence, the governments said separately Wednesday, a day after a meeting in Geneva on the technology.

Summaries of the closed-door talks between high-level envoys, which discussed the risks of AI and ways to manage them, highlighted the tension between Beijing and Washington over the rapidly advancing technology that has become a new flashpoint in the bilateral relations.

China and the United States “exchanged perspectives on their respective approaches to AI safety and risk management” in the “frank and constructive” discussions a day earlier, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. Beijing said the two sides exchanged views in-depth, professionally and constructively.

The first such talks between the US and China on AI resulted from a November meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in San Francisco. The conversations reflected concern and hope about the promising but potentially dangerous new technology.

“The United States underscored the importance of ensuring that AI systems are safe, secure, and reliable to realize these benefits of AI – and to continue building global consensus on that basis,” Watson said. Referring to the People’s Republic of China, she added: “The United States has also raised concerns about the misuse of AI, including by the People’s Republic of China.”

She did not elaborate on the type of abuse or other actors behind it.

Beijing, meanwhile, has expressed “a strong stance on US artificial intelligence restrictions and pressures” against China, the country’s State Department for North American and Oceania Affairs said in a social media post.

Beijing has previously lashed out at the Commerce Department’s export controls that limit access to advanced computer chips that could be used for AI. Biden signed an executive order in August to restrict US investment in China’s AI industry.

China is also advocating for the United Nations to play a leading role in the global governance of AI, a move that could sideline the US.

Both sides acknowledged that while AI offers opportunities, “it also poses risks,” the Chinese statement said.

China has built one of the world’s most intrusive digital surveillance systems, which have an AI component, plant cameras on city streets and track citizens through chat apps and mobile phones.

Watson said the US wants to keep open communications with China on AI risks and safety “as an important part of responsibly managing competition,” an allusion to the multi-faceted and growing rivalry between the world’s two largest economic powers.

AI is already having a huge impact on lifestyles, jobs, national defense, culture, politics and much more – and its role is only expected to grow.

China warned of the need to regulate AI as early as 2018, but has nevertheless funded a massive expansion in this area as part of its efforts to take the top spot in cutting-edge technologies.

Some US lawmakers have expressed concern that China could support the use of AI-generated deepfakes to spread political disinformation, although unlike the US, China has imposed a series of new laws banning manipulative AI fakes.

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Chan reported from London. AP Tech writer Matt O’Brien in Rhode Island and Asian Affairs writer Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

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