Washington, D.C. — When officials from the United States and China meet later this month to discuss artificial intelligence (AI), they must have a serious conversation about how to deal with the risk of humans losing control of alarmingly rapid advancements in frontier AI models.
A new analysis from the Center for American Progress argues that both countries should use the meeting to share their mutual concerns and discuss steps they can take to moderate the speed—or “pace the frontier”—of AI development.
The analysis urges the United States and China to work toward five goals:
- Establishing an “AI red phone” for urgent safety concerns.
- Defining “genuine security threat” from frontier AI that would impel steps to pace the frontier in the future.
- Announcing a working group and date to meet to share how each side is using testing and restrictions to pace the frontier.
- Jointly declaring that the latest research and advancements in AI alignment and model control are an existentially important public good that should be shared publicly.
- Issuing a joint statement from President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping on the topic following the September dialogue.
For AI control to keep up with AI advancements, what’s needed is not semiconductors, energy, or capital, but rather time—the commodity in shortest supply given the economic and geopolitical pressures that are pushing AI development forward. The United States and China can help create that needed time starting with their September meeting.
The greater risk for the United States and China would be to not at least explore the possibility of pacing AI until it is too late to prevent the worst outcomes from these technologies, outcomes that would endanger global peace and security.
Read the analysis: “The U.S. and China Must Explore Pacing the Frontier During September AI Dialogue” by Adam Conner, Damian Murphy, and Jonathan Fritz
For more information, or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].