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While AI researchers in the United States fret over out-of-control superintelligence wiping out humanity, Chinese policymakers have until now been more focused on immediate risks, from deepfakes to child safety.
But the alarming hacking ability of top artificial intelligence models is leading Beijing to see the dangers in a new light, with the spy agency chief warning this week that the technology could jeopardize national security.
The potential vulnerability of Chinese mega-app WeChat was also revealed recently when a small team of programmers in California said it had used AI to build a cyberattack “worm” that, if unleashed, could easily compromise millions of WeChat accounts.
“There are more similarities than differences when it comes to AI safety issues” in China and the United States, said Kevin Xu, founder of U.S.-based technology hedge fund Interconnected Capital.
But unlike in America, these “don’t get litigated or go viral in public in China,” Xu told AFP.
Nevertheless, the cybersecurity impact of AI agent bots acting without human oversight “would rank very high among the Chinese government’s biggest concerns.”
As the topic grabs global headlines, the pressure is on for President Xi Jinping and U.S. counterpart Donald Trump to discuss tackling the AI threats to both countries at in-person talks on Sept. 24, despite their rivalry in the field.
Both powers are “developing a more realistic and shared understanding of these risks, thereby heightening the sense of urgency” to work together, Sun Chenghao of Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy told AFP.
Cooperation on shared safety evaluations for AI models or alert systems when crises emerge might be undermined by the fierce competition, however.
“We’re leading China in AI, and frankly I want to keep it that way,” Trump said when asked about calls from top U.S. labs for a coordinated slowdown of their cutting-edge work.
Meanwhile, Sun said, “China is concerned that ‘security’ may be used as a tool to restrict its technological development.”
A stark warning of the existential threat posed by self-improving future AI systems, posted on Sept. 14 on X by a researcher resigning from U.S. startup Anthropic, has fueled debate worldwide over how the technology should be governed.
China is already actively regulating how it is used, such as by prohibiting the creation of an AI-generated avatar in someone’s likeness without their consent.
“Chinese AI policy focuses more on real, present-day harms to society and people,” said Brian Tse, CEO at Concordia AI, a Beijing-based consultancy focused on AI safety.
“Beijing treats AI as a general-purpose technology, not a ‘god-in-a-box,’” he said.
It sees it as “something closer to electricity or the automobile: Enormously beneficial for society and industry, but ultimately manageable through regulation,” Tse said.
He added that “recent AI capability jumps, high-profile incidents acting as ‘warning shots,’ and a worrying pace of AI development through automation” had all pushed the technology up the list of priorities.
