US And China Will Meet In Geneva To Discuss Artificial Intelligence

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken (photo: x @SecBlinken)

JAKARTA - On Tuesday, May 14, representatives of the US and China will meet in Geneva to discuss artificial intelligence. US officials stressed that Washington's policies would not be material for negotiations as talks explored ways to reduce the risk of this developing technology.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has sought to engage with China on various issues to mitigate the misunderstanding between the two rivals. US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the topic of artificial intelligence in April in Beijing, in which they agreed to hold their first formal bilateral talks on the subject.

The State Department has pushed China and Russia to align with the US declaration that only humans, and not artificial intelligence, will make decisions about the deployment of nuclear weapons.

"This is the first meeting of its kind. So, we hope to discuss the entire risk range, but will not predict anything specifically at this time," a senior government official told reporters ahead of the meeting when asked if the US would prioritize the issue of nuclear weapons.

According to the White House National Security Council (NSC) on Monday, representatives of the US Delegation will include officials from the White House as well as the State Department and Trade.

Reuters has reported that the Biden administration plans to put a barrier to the US exclusive artificial intelligence model that drives popular chatbots like ChatGPT to protect technology from countries like China and Russia.

The second US official to provide information to reporters said Washington and Beijing were competing to form rules on artificial intelligence, but also hoped to explore whether some of these rules could be "enlivened by all countries."

"We certainly don't always agree... on many topics and applications of artificial intelligence, but we believe that communication about critical risks of artificial intelligence can make the world safer," the second official said.

NSC officials, Tarun Chhabra and Seth Center, special envoys from the US State Department for critical and emerging technologies, will lead talks with officials from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and state planners, the National Development and Reform Commission.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to issue recommendations in the coming weeks to address the risks of artificial intelligence, which he says will later translate into gradual legislation.

He has cited competition with China and different goals from AI, including surveillance and facial recognition applications, as a reason Washington needs to take the lead in formulating laws around this rapidly growing technology.

Chinese authorities have stressed the need for the country to develop its own "controllable" artificial intelligence technology.